Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[capt_oats]

[Kapowzer]

It seems Robbie Crawford and Lawless will feature again, probably around mid October when 75% of the team will be serving points bans. Then December, mid Feb and April.

If I was a bookie, I'd be offering even money on Lawless and van Veen having the same amount of game time come May.

Those stats do nothing to quell OF bias shouts.

Edited September 13, 2021 by Kapowzer

[fat_tony]

I might be in the minority but I really don't have any issue with Gallagher. Came to us, had a cracking season, never really hit the heights in the second but still did a job, then moved on at the end of his contract.

Could be vocal at times on Twitter but I don't have any problem with players giving some back given the amount of abuse they take, especially online.

[Guest superward]

Have to say - l am very much enjoying the way we set up and play. It's maybe not everyone's cup of tea but it's essentially Robinson's Thunderdome v2, and it looks like it works. For all the 'strength' and 'effectiveness' we exhibit there are some lovely bits of football being played. Which it feels like are getting missed when we get lost in the hyperbole of it all. Which is a good laugh tbf.

Possession is something that's been brought up this season so thought I'd look at our start last year as from memory Robinson kept going on about how we had so much possession in games but weren't tight enough at the back or up front (much like the moans from Glass after the game)

After 5 league games in 20/21:

Average possession was 58.14% and we had 2 points. Ross County, Dundee U, Livingston, Hibs, Accies played.

After 5 league games in 21/22:

Average possession is  38.66 and we have 10 points. Hibs, St. Johnstone, Dundee, Livi and Aberdeen played.

I'd argue this season's start is the more difficult. Long live #grezzaball

Edited September 13, 2021 by superward

[ropy]

28 minutes ago, Antiochas III said:

Beautiful...

 

 

Is that just for Saturday?

[Swello]

2 minutes ago, superward said:

Have to say - l am very much enjoying the way we set up and play. It's maybe not everyone's cup of tea but it's essentially Robinson's Thunderdome v2, and it looks like it works. For all the 'strength' and 'effectiveness' we exhibit there are some lovely bits of football being played. Which it feels like are getting missed when we get lost in the hyperbole of it all. Which is a good laugh tbf.

Possession is something that's been brought up this season so thought I'd look at our start last year as from memory Robinson kept going on about how we had so much possession in games but weren't tight enough at the back or up front (much like the moans from Glass after the game)

After 5 league games in 20/21:

Average possession was 58.14% and we had 2 points. Ross County, Dundee U, Livingston, Hibs, Accies played.

After 5 league games in 21/22:

Average possession is  38.66 and we have 10 points. Hibs, St. Johnstone, Dundee, Livi and Aberdeen played.

I'd argue this season's start is the more difficult. Long live #grezzaball

I really like the way we are trying to play - but similar to Robinson/Thunderdome, I think what we've seen so far is probably very well suited to playing away games and Aberdeen/Hibs/Hearts at Fir Park as we don't need to make all the running - but I'm very interested to see how we play against teams that will come to Fir Park and sit in themselves, which is where we struggled before. 

Maybe these are the games that you sacrifice a hard-working midfielder for someone more creative (ie - Goss) - but the Ross County game will be interesting.

[ropy]

9 minutes ago, fat_tony said:

I might be in the minority but I really don't have any issue with Gallagher. Came to us, had a cracking season, never really hit the heights in the second but still did a job, then moved on at the end of his contract.

Could be vocal at times on Twitter but I don't have any problem with players giving some back given the amount of abuse they take, especially online.

The only issue was the Daily Record article about armament placements.  Without this we would all love him.

[Ron Aldo]

Thunderdome is back and I'm all for it.

[Swello]

5 minutes ago, ropy said:

The only issue was the Daily Record article about armament placements.  Without this we would all love him.

For me - the Record article only confirmed what we had all seen on the pitch - he was less than enamoured that he hadn't got his move on the back of a great season and his performance levels had dropped massively to the point where he was looking like he didn't give a f**k.

That said - he got a mild boo-ing on Saturday (some of it from Motherwell supporters ) and that's fine and should be the end of it.

Edited September 13, 2021 by Swello

[ropy]

13 minutes ago, Ron Aldo said:

Thunderdome is back and I'm all for it.

Grimshaw was booked for a cuddle and Tony Watt for a play wrestle with his pal, some of these guys need to step up to the dome and earn their stripes.

[capt_oats]

44 minutes ago, Swello said:

I really like the way we are trying to play - but similar to Robinson/Thunderdome, I think what we've seen so far is probably very well suited to playing away games and Aberdeen/Hibs/Hearts at Fir Park as we don't need to make all the running - but I'm very interested to see how we play against teams that will come to Fir Park and sit in themselves, which is where we struggled before. 

Maybe these are the games that you sacrifice a hard-working midfielder for someone more creative (ie - Goss) - but the Ross County game will be interesting.

I think the difference between the Robinson/Thunderdome version and where we are now with #Grezzaball is that we seem to have more creative forwards rather than lumps to hit like Bowman, Main and Sammon. Van Veen presses and "puts himself about" but he's probably closer to a Moult-type.

It's something that I remarked on at the time but does Robinson sign a player like KVV?

Based on his signing record at Fir Park and subsequently at Morecambe (Obika) probably not? There's the other aspect that when you look at the difference Alexander made to Cole and what we've seen so far from Watt and KVV there's a solid enough argument that he gets more out his strikers in terms of goals than Robinson did.

It's still early days but we seem to be far more about getting high quality chances than Robinson's mantra of "get balls into the box".

Edited September 13, 2021 by capt_oats

[Archie McSquackle]

I really like the way we are trying to play - but similar to Robinson/Thunderdome, I think what we've seen so far is probably very well suited to playing away games and Aberdeen/Hibs/Hearts at Fir Park as we don't need to make all the running - but I'm very interested to see how we play against teams that will come to Fir Park and sit in themselves, which is where we struggled before. 
Maybe these are the games that you sacrifice a hard-working midfielder for someone more creative (ie - Goss) - but the Ross County game will be interesting.

When we play some of the teams that sit in there's the potential for the ref blowing his whistle and the ball just remaining on the centre spot while both teams remain in shape.

[thisGRAEME]

1 hour ago, fat_tony said:

I might be in the minority but I really don't have any issue with Gallagher. Came to us, had a cracking season, never really hit the heights in the second but still did a job, then moved on at the end of his contract.

Could be vocal at times on Twitter but I don't have any problem with players giving some back given the amount of abuse they take, especially online.

Wasn't a fan of him signing. Wasn't a fan of him being here. Not a fan now he's gone.

Had a good first season, won't miss him.

[RetroMan]

Well fans, 

we have reproduced the classic 94/95 away shirt.

https://retroshirts.co/products/ols/products/motherwell-fc-199495-away-shirt

any questions you can message me.

 

[Swello]

12 minutes ago, RetroMan said:

Well fans, 

we have reproduced the classic 94/95 away shirt.

https://retroshirts.co/products/ols/products/motherwell-fc-199495-away-shirt

any questions you can message me.

 

Love it - still have the original though as it is a favourite of mine - one of our best ever.

[capt_oats]

2 minutes ago, Swello said:

Love it - still have the original though as it is a favourite of mine - one of our best ever.

Aye, I still have my original as well although it's an XL (such was the fashion then) so it's just a terrible, terrible outsized fit now.

[well fan for life]

29 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

Wasn't a fan of him signing. Wasn't a fan of him being here. Not a fan now he's gone.

Had a good first season, won't miss him.

I struggle to remember a Motherwell captain I have been less enthusiastic about. He was great in that first season and atrocious in the second. 

See if he had played well, come to the end of a contract and got a decent contract in Aberdeen I think I'd be sound with it. But all the gun to his head/his contract end date mysteriously moving to after the Euros stuff has me delighted we're rid of him tbh. I mean ffs we were playing Lamie every week even when Gallagher was "fit".

That and he's been replaced with a pair of Scandinavian Gods.

[fat_tony]

The only issue was the Daily Record article about armament placements.  Without this we would all love him.

Even that story was the old "someone close to him said..." type thing wasn't it? Not that it matters much now anyway.

He joins a long list of players to make the step down to Aberdeen, and I'm delighted so far with the replacements.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

I'm not going to act like I had a problem with him signing, or that I didn't celebrate his goals at Tynecastle or Dingwall because of the moral implications etc, but I think it's pretty clear that Gallagher's an absolute c**t of a human being.

[Swello]

I think there has always been a secret, very petty list of players that are deemed to have left us in a Good or Bad way (and a bin for jobbers that drift off at the end of contracts) - Big Dec has unfortunately ended up on the Bad list with Cadden, Pearson (first time round) and a few others (one of my earliest 'Well memories was Fraser Wishart getting pelters for characterising his move to St Mirren as a step up and a chance to "win things"  )

Thing is - practically every player who has done us a turn and got a move off the back of it has ended up on the Good list as I think there is a very realistic view of our place in the wages pecking order - so it takes especially bad handling to f**k everyone off...