capt_oats

Aye. Eddie Nolan is sat next to Kelly here so he made it into the building at least once. I mean, Nolan and Belic are the OGs but if the game here is players we signed that we saw little of - regardless of injury or circumstance - you can add these to the list: Ellis Plummer - 1 app (14 mins) Ross McCormack (loan) - 4 apps (89 mins) Jacob Blyth - 9 apps (167 mins) Nathan Thomas - 2 apps (106 mins) Harry Robinson - 2 apps (19 mins) Sam Foley - 5 apps (283 mins) Victor Nirennold - 3 apps (72 mins) Liam Shaw (loan) - 8 apps (230 mins)

The Robinson case went to court. He was found not guilty. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/motherwell-manager-stephen-robinson-found-21599627

I suppose in that respect the reason Van Veen actually ended up here was, firstly, Alexander had worked with him before and knew him but also he was coming off the back of a season like that where he'd had a serious injury and absolutely no one was looking at him. I could be wrong but did McInnes not suggest recently that he'd been interested in him for Aberdeen during his first spell at Scunthorpe? Which is sort of the point - broadly if players are in form then we're going to get priced out. Either way, what's interesting about KVV, for me, is that he's just not the type of striker we've tended to sign - going back through the past 20 odd years and the closest fit in the 'mercurial' stakes is probably Ciftci (based on what he did at United). In fact - hot take - KVV is probably the signing #Nadz could/should have been had it worked out. There's maybe an argument-ish for Tony Watt and Callum Lang although the latter was only here for half a season and we never got to see him in person. The rest? It's difficult to put Kev in the same bracket as your Cole, Moult, Higdon, Ojamaa, Sutton, Porter, McDonald, Jutkiewicz, Foran etc in terms of style. That's before you get to your Shields, Main, Bowman, Jacob Blyth, Wes Fletcher, Danny Johnson types. In terms of pure 'gallus' technical players you'd probably have to go back to Faddy v1.0 as the benchmark - and clearly he wasn't someone we went out and signed. Tbh, a lot of the discourse around Van Veen has been that this season has been some sort of outlier but someone mentioned the OG 'Budget Bergkamp' highlight reel the other day and honestly, I still don't get how anyone could look at that and not think he looked absolutely fucking brilliant value... In fact, since I hadn't actually thought about him since he left...Callum Lang appreciation video here, similar vibes to the KVV one above tbh:

I noticed that there was a quote from their guy in a recent article that was basically saying they were wanting to get their players in for the start of their pre-season: It's maybe lost in translation a bit but the RTV article suggests their General Manager actually had talks with him. Big fan of him being described as a doelpuntenmachine. Tbh, I'd imagine that as long as we're not digging our heels in asking for daft money (see Scunthorpe apparently wanting £8m for him when a Chinese club was rumoured to be after him) then it'll get done. I'd say that £10k p/w would qualify as "life-changing" money for a 32 year old who's spent his time bouncing around the lower leagues in England. Either way, get us paid.

I'm not sure how accurate a Google search is on this but going by this article when they signed Robben in 2020 their turnover was €20m https://northerntimes.nl/arjen-robben-signing-boosts-fc-groningens-finances/ There's a Swiss Ramble thread here from 2020 that puts it at around €20m as well. For context Hearts turnover for their last accounts was £14.6m, Aberdeen's was £13.8m and Hibs was £11.8m.

Well... I know we already knew about the Groningen thing what with their guy confirming he'd been over for a chat but interesting to see a number put on the big man's wage. Get us paid...

Archie's left the Reserves/u18s to be assistant manager First Team Coach at Killie.

We exist to improve obstruct people's lives view.

Posted this up in the squad list thread. Some of the contract expiries we know from *the internet* have re-signed but not announced (eg: Ewan Wilson's maw on Twitter) others have popped up on PFA Scotland 's available list (Jake Carroll, Corey O'Donnell) while David Devine has said his goodbyes on Twitter dot com. We also know that Johnston, Cornelius and Casey have been offered new contracts based on what Ketts has said in his pressers. Either way, this is where we stand at the moment - 14 of 18 contracts expire in 2024: Goalkeepers: 1. Liam Kelly (27) - 2024 13. Aston Oxborough (25) - 2024 Defenders: 2. Stephen O'Donnell (31) - 2024 4. Ricki Lamie (29) - 2024 5. Bevis Mugabi (28) - 2024 16. Paul McGinn (32) - 2024 19. Nathan McGinley (26) - 2024 20. Shane Blaney (24) - 2025 66. Calum Butcher (32) - 2024 Midfielders: 6. Barry Maguire (25) - 2024 7. Blair Spittal (27) - 2024 8. Callum Slattery (24) - 2024 26. Ross Tierney (22) - 2025 38. Lennon Miller (16) - 2025 Forwards: 9. Kevin Van Veen (32) - 2024 11. Joe Efford (26) - 2024 14. Riku Danzaki (23) - 2025 29. Connor Shields (25) - 2024 Contracts expired: Jake Carroll - released (?) Logan Dunachie Daniel Hunter Kian Spiers Jack Aitchison Matthew Connelly - re-signed Max Johnston - contract offered Ewan Wilson - re-signed Dan Casey - contract offered Dean Cornelius - contract offered Sean Goss Mikael Mandron David Devine - released Corey O'Donnell - released (?) Harry Paton Loans expired: Stuart McKinstry James Furlong Oli Crankshaw Jon Obika Contracted players released: Josh Morris

Goalkeepers: 1. Liam Kelly (27) - 2024 13. Aston Oxborough (25) - 2024 Defenders: 2. Stephen O'Donnell (31) - 2024 3. Georgie Gent (19) - 2024 - season loan from Blackburn Rovers 5. Bevis Mugabi (28) - 2024 15. Dan Casey (25) - 2025 16. Paul McGinn (32) - 2024 20. Shane Blaney (24) - 2025 21. Adam Devine (20) - 2024 - season loan from Rangers 22. Adam Montgomery (21) - 2023 - season loan from Celtic 29. Callan Elliot (24) - 2024 66. Calum Butcher (32) - 2024 Midfielders: 6. Barry Maguire (25) - 2024 7. Blair Spittal (27) - 2024 8. Callum Slattery (24) - 2024 11. Andy Halliday (32) - 2024 + 1 year 12. Harry Paton (25) - 2025 17. Davor Zdravkovski (25) - 2025 38. Lennon Miller (16) - 2026 39. Luca Ross (16) - 2025 Forwards: 9. Jon Obika (32) - 2024 + 1 year option 14. Thelonius Bair (23) - 2025 18. Oli Shaw (25) - 2024 - season loan from Barnsley 19. Sam Nicholson (29) - 2024 24. Moses Ebiye (26) - 2025 28. Jack Vale (22) - 2024 - season loan from Blackburn Rovers In 19/06/23 - Jon Obika (from Morecambe - free transfer) 04/07/23 - Conor Wilkinson (from Walsall - free transfer) 17/07/23 - Pape Souaré (from Morecambe - free transfer) 21/07/23 - Davor Zdravkovski (from AEL Limassol - free transfer) 01/08/23 - Thelonius Bair (from St Johnstone - free transfer) 22/01/24 - Callan Elliot (unattached - previously Wellington Phoenix - free transfer) 23/01/24 - Sam Nicholson (from Colorado Rapids - free transfer) 05/03/24 - Moses Ebiye (from Aalesund - free transfer) In (Loan) 03/08/23 - Mika Biereth (from Arsenal - season) 24/08/23 - Brodie Spencer (from Huddersfield Town - season) 31/08/23 - Oli Shaw (from Barnsley - season) 01/09/23 - Georgie Gent (from Blackburn Rovers - season) 15/01/24 - Adam Montgomery (from Celtic - season) 19/01/24 - Andy Haliday (from Hearts - season + 1 year permanent) 31/01/24 - Jack Vale (from Blackburn Rovers - season) 01/02/24 - Adam Devine (from Rangers - season) 01/02/24 - Jili Buyabu (from Sheffield United - season) 08/02/24 - Oli Shaw (from Barnsley - season) Out (Loan) 14/07/23 - Robbie Mahon (to Edinburgh City - season) 15/07/23 - Sam Campbell (to Annan Athletic - to January '24) 24/07/23 - Ross Tierney (to Walsall - season) 04/08/23 - Adam MacDonald (to Cowdenbeath - season) 18/08/23 - Barry Maguire (to Kidderminster Harriers - to January 24) 25/08/23 - Robbie Garcia (to Cowdenbeath - to January 24) 26/08/23 - Ricki Lamie (to Dundee - season) 29/09/23 - Mark Ferrie (to Stenhousemuir - to January 24) 29/09/23 - Ewan Wilson (to Stirling Albion - season - loan terminated 06/03/2024) 30/09/23 - Nathan McGinley (to Partick Thistle - to January 24) 22/12/23 - Matty Connelly (to East Kilbride - season) 03/01/24 - Brodie Spencer (to Huddersfield Town - loan recall option exercised) 11/01/24 - Arran Bone (to Gala Fairydean Rovers - season) 18/01/24 - Mika Biereth (to Arsenal - loan recall option exercised - loaned to Sturm Graz) 24/01/24 - Oli Shaw (to Barnsley - loan cancelled) 21/02/24 - Jili Buyabu (to Sheffield United - loan cancelled) 06/03/24 - Ewan Wilson (to Beith Juniors) Out 20/06/23 - Kevin Van Veen (to FC Groningen - undisclosed ) 22/06/23 - Dean Cornelius (to Harrogate Town - undisclosed) 24/07/23 - Riku Danzaki (to Western United - free) 25/07/23 - Max Johnston (to Sturm Graz - £300k - development compensation) 26/07/23 - Connor Shields (to Chennaiyin FC - free) 09/08/23 - Ali Gould (to Watford u21) 16/09/23 - Joe Efford (to PAS Giannina - free) 01/01/24 - Pape Souaré (contract expired) 03/01/24 - Conor Wilkinson (to Colchester United - undisclosed) 04/01/24 - Sam Campbell (contract expired) 11/01/24 - Robbie Mahon (to Dundalk - free) 23/01/24 - Nathan McGinley (released - mutual consent) Players confirmed departing club at end of contract: Jake Carroll (signed for Bohemian) Logan Dunachie (signed for Clyde) Daniel Hunter (signed for Broomhill) Kian Spiers (signed for Caledonian Braves) Jack Aitchison (signed for Exeter City) David Devine (signed for Alloa) Corey O'Donnell (signed for Broomhill) Max Johnston (signed for Sturm Graz) Sean Goss (signed for Asteras Tripoli) Mikael Mandron (signed for St Mirren) Loans expired: Stuart McKinstry (signed for Queens Park) James Furlong (sold to Hull City) Oli Crankshaw (signed for Altrincham) Jon Obika (signed for Motherwell) Contracted players released: Josh Morris Riku Danzaki (signed for Western United) Joe Efford (signed for PAS Giannina) Nathan McGinley (signed for Ayr United)

To that point, the accounts to May 31st 2021 showed the payment of £775k for the Pandemic season when we were put out by Hapoel in the third Qualifying Round of the Europa:

Grimmy's pivot to writing/blogging is #content that, I'll be honest, caught me by surprise. https://www.instagram.com/liamgrimshaw_/ https://thoughtsfromthefoothills.com/

Thank f**k we swerved the Play Off as getting relegated by Brian Graham and Steven fucking Lawless would've been really, really shite. Having said that, pleased to see Jack McMillan has turned into a smashing right back. He's come a long way form when we were getting scudded 5-1 by Dundee in McGhee's last game.

He was supposedly close to going back up the road after he left us. County binning Hughes in favour of Mackay put the kibosh on that. It was mentioned in this interview and given the way he's framed it wouldn't be a surprise if that's his preference if he has the opportunity.

As I mentioned, I didn't say it's a good league, simply that it exists. At a guess, I'd imagine that there are relatively few fixtures to allow for some flexibility in scheduling that also allows Academy player to go on loan. It runs in parallel with the Reserve Cup format (which St Mirren don't seem to be involved in either funnily enough) https://spfl.co.uk/league/rcup/table https://news.stv.tv/sport/dundee-united-hibs-and-motherwell-among-premiership-clubs-to-sign-up-for-spfl-reserve-league That's the format they've decided to run with. I'm sure they have their reasons but to be honest even when they re-branded to a bona-fide Reserve league pre-pandemic (the format you're talking about) it's been a half-arsed shambles with zero discernible benefits to clubs although it did allow folk to spout their rose-tinted pish about how a return to the days "Reserve" football would sort everything out. Burrows alluded to the zero improvements back in 2019: https://twitter.com/Alan_Burrows/status/1112982284041379841?s=20

I mean, there *is* a reserves league - not a very good one but it exists all the same. https://spfl.co.uk/league/rl1/table Genuine (no snark) question, how come St Mirren aren't in it? Presumably that's been a choice?

Exactly this. I get that people's mileage may vary when it came to Grant but between him and Flow we'd been consistently good at communicating to stakeholders. Since both have left and their positions remain vacant we increasingly seem to be tripping ourselves up on a variety of subjects - see @crazylegsjoe_mfc's post above. It definitely doesn't mean that there are dark arts at work but cack-handedly publishing a straightforward list while failing to acknowledge that 4 playing staff have extended their stays becomes amplified in comparison.

Aye, I've no real desire to give "let me speak to the manager" vibes and there's definitely no need to go into granular detail but y'know...just acknowledge it. The club have contract expirations on player profiles on their website, we know when SOD, McGinn, Efford and Mahon's deals were up, we also know that the club haven't made any announcements to update that. I get that none of the players probably warrant a 'ONE MORE YEAR' news story with accompanying photoshoot but similarly going in the "if you saw Joe Efford's contract expired May 2023...no you didn't" direction raises the question of what we're actually doing when it comes to comms. As I said yesterday, this is a list that we publish on an annual basis and it's a pretty straightforward template: Players currently under contract for 23/24 Players who have activated options/signed new contracts Players out of contract the club are currently in discussion with Players out of contract leaving on expiry Contracted players who have been released. That's it. Add in some quotes from the manager, thank everyone for their time and press publish. Quite why we've decided to deviate from that and obfuscate a routine news story IDK. (Actually I'd guess @Al B has the answer above).

I understand this is now old news but setting aside the "Guess Who?" element of who we have/haven't offered contracts to, that's four players that have either triggered options or signed new deals without a peep from the club (SOD, McGinn, Efford and Mahon). Given we're a club who have generally been pretty on it in keeping that sort of stuff up to date, and have made a point of doing so, it definitely jars a bit. I've said it before but as a fan-owned club one of the bare minimum expectations is that the club actually communicates information to the fans and I dunno, contract extensions of playing staff (regardless of how they're activated) feels relevant to fans interests.

I've not really been paying much attention but is it not Dundee fans repeating the same rumour from earlier in the year now that he's fucked off? "I heard he'd signed a PCA with Motherwell?". If he has 4 offers on the table then it suggests there's no PCA. I'm kind of in the same place. I could have seen Hammell being interested in having a chat with him given his fixation on a 4231 but given where we are at the moment it's hard to see where he'd fit with us. Livi on the other hand...

Aye. It was in the Record. Also, related...it's absolutely fucking wild that we've apparently managed to f**k up writing a list that we publish on an annual basis.

It's absolutely nuts. I mean, Corey O'Donnell and Jake Carroll are already on the PFA's list of available players. https://pfascotland.co.uk/player-availability-list/ Fwiw, this was last season's and it's pretty straightforward. https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2022/05/20/end-of-2021-22-squad-update/

OTD. To all those who celebrate…

Aye, I'm mindful of seeming like I'm taking a shot at a 16 year old laddie. I'm not a complete dick like. I agree he was fine but at the same time it definitely felt like a lot of the reason United were able to get on top in the first half came from that space in the middle of the park. I think both things can be true and fwiw, I didn't pitch up on Saturday expecting him to run the show. Dunno if it was just me projecting or not but it didn't feel like a coincidence that we picked up in the 2nd half when Slattery and Obika came on. It kind of reminded me of that end of season game vs Dundee a few years back when we gave Jimmy Scott a start as the #9 but there was a noticeable difference when we chucked Curtis Main on to play the role - the ball just stuck better and you could tell that the difference in experience/physicality was a big factor in that.