Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Kapowzer]

15 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:

You can make a case saying we could/should have kept Devlin/Lawless/Craigan because they eventually turned out to be solid top level pros for a bit but there is also the argument they got there precisely because we let them go and they played seasons of first team football we just couldn't offer them.

I do agree Devlin was one I was surprised we didn't persevere with as iirc he was highly-rated when we signed him. But I don't think his current level makes him a massive error either even if you'd happily have him now.

Not a massive error no, just an example of perseverance and could have had someone who was better than some of players we've had in his position in the interim. However if we did that for everyone on our books then we wouldn't be Motherwell. For every Devlin there are 10 others who had faded into lower league obscurity or now working as personal trainers and we don't have the resources.

I'd put massive errors among Les not heeding Floa's advice to buy John McGinn from St Mirren when he was flashing the chequebook.

[Handsome_Devil]

7 minutes ago, Kapowzer said:

I'd put massive errors among Les not heeding Floa's advice to buy John McGinn from St Mirren when he was flashing the chequebook.

Hadn't heard that one before...ouch.

[capt_oats]

HBD

[well fan for life]

500 of those fouls were Slattery stopping counter attacks. 

[Kapowzer]

38 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:

Hadn't heard that one before...ouch.

To what degree, in a wider list of targets or specifically advised this guy is the mustard I doubt we will every really know. Also how many other "gems" were advised who are now at Gala Fairydean and alike. I suspect every Scottish player with promise has been discussed at some point at every club as a prospective target.

History is also always written by the victor and Les has nothing to do with us any more.

[stu92]

If Nicky Devlin, a run of the mill mid-to-lower end SPFL defender, is the ‘one that got away’ then I think we’ve a pretty decent record at judging youth players’ potential. All the best Darragh, nothing but good luck to you. 

[Swello]

Our "ones that got away" these days are really the ones we sold prematurely from our point of view. Ben Hall looked decent before he went - who knows if he would have matured into a good defender if he took the Shaun Hutchinson approach. We never even saw McKinstry obviously. 

I think the chances of both us and "big club" academies missing a hidden gem are pretty low TBH.

[rowsdower]

It's hard to predict when a player may breakout, and some don't. In cases like Craigan, a couple of seasons of regular football worked wonders for him, and we were able to bring him back for a great spell.

Some players may just need the right system, club, or manager to click, but in general being released by us doesn't work out too well.

[one m in Motherwell]

Speaking of being released…the fabled SQUAD UPDATE can’t come soon enough…

 

…although in saying that we can probably name a good 80-90% of the folk on it ourselves.

[capt_oats]

Kind of related to the impending SQUAD UPDATE. I posted this the other week but here it is now the season's finished.

The squad ordered by minutes played.

[well fan for life]

Cannae wait to see a few folk on that list blast off like Team Rocket shortly.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Do folk think Donnelly will stick around? I'd probably rather we look for an upgrade but have a feeling we'll see him renew.

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

Just now, YassinMoutaouakil said:

Do folk think Donnelly will stick around? I'd probably rather we look for an upgrade but have a feeling we'll see him renew.

Had he not already signed O’Hara, I could have seen him going to St. Mirren. Still wouldn’t be astonished to see it.

I don’t think he’s as good as people may have thought at the start of the 19/20 season, or as bad as people would have had you believe at points this season, but I’d say his time at the club appears to be at a natural end.

[well fan for life]

I can see Donnelly sticking around but I'd be happier if he just quietly left now. He had that wild purple patch where he scored a load of goals but Slattery is like the upgraded version of him in every way.

Thanks for coming, Liam. On yer way now.

[capt_oats]

17 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

Do folk think Donnelly will stick around? I'd probably rather we look for an upgrade but have a feeling we'll see him renew.

This will sound daft because it would be a really weird thing to consciously do during an actual season but...with Alexander who knows.

I kind of felt that the run in the team Donnelly go ahead of Slattery was almost like an audition for the role given he had missed the 2nd half of the 20/21 season when GA took over and picked up another injury at the start of 21/22 which Alexander hinted that he felt partially responsible for as he'd been pushing him to get back and play in the Betfred games.

Him making an appearance in the back three in the County and Hearts games (which we won) half made me wonder if that might have given both parties something to think about.

I'm 50/50 on whether I think he stays or goes though. I don't particularly feel strongly either way, as @crazylegsjoe_mfc it kind of feels like a natural conclusion given he's been here since 2018 but IMO there are worse options to have around the squad.

It feels notable that he's not one of the ones who went straight on to IG to say "see ya!" though.

Edited May 17, 2022 by capt_oats

[Desp]

I think if Donnelly stays, then I'd like to see him in that role in the back three where he was against County & Hearts. 

He's never a midfielder in a million years. He doesn't have the positional sense to run and dictate a game. 

I'm not overly arsed if he stays or goes, but if he were to stay on, defence please.

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

I actually wonder how much the centre mid experiment was a bit of luck. He’d never played midfield before that final game of the season, then Rodriguez-Gorrin left and there was a gap.

8 of his 11 goals of that season were scored before August was out - we may be talking purple patch.

The second half against Hearts at centre back was as assured as I’ve seen him this season.

[dezz]

I’m not overly fussed either way if Donnelly stays or goes. It does kind of feel like a natural time to part ways, but if he does hang around I’d prefer to see him in that centre back role and absolutely nowhere near the midfield. He’s too slow on the ball to play in the middle of the park but performed pretty well against Hearts and County in the back 3.
If he stays, and GA does fancy him as a CB, we’d be pretty stacked in a position I was hoping we could improve on during the summer, even more so if Lamie hangs around as well.

[capt_oats]

17 minutes ago, dezz said:

I’m not overly fussed either way if Donnelly stays or goes. It does kind of feel like a natural time to part ways, but if he does hang around I’d prefer to see him in that centre back role and absolutely nowhere near the midfield. He’s too slow on the ball to play in the middle of the park but performed pretty well against Hearts and County in the back 3.
If he stays, and GA does fancy him as a CB, we’d be pretty stacked in a position I was hoping we could improve on during the summer, even more so if Lamie hangs around as well.

Aye, that's where it maybe gets a bit weird and kind of depends on the plan going forward. If we stick with the 343/523 it'd give us Mugabi, Johansen, Ojala as a back 3 plus Donnelly. McGinley as an option as well, Carroll had a short run as a CB this season too.

Depends on Lamie as well I suppose although I get the feeling that there's a fair chance he still moves, just not to Dens. His stock feels as high as it's ever been right now.

I'm not sure that keeping the same personnel really squares with Alexander talking about our defensive record being trash though. Although he did talk about looking at the system we've been playing as a consideration of that.

Edited May 17, 2022 by capt_oats

[dezz]

Depends on Lamie as well I suppose although I get the feeling that there's a fair chance he still moves, just not to Dens. His stock feels as high as it's ever been right now.

Yeah, agreed. Was there not a bit of chat about a League One club down south (maybe Crewe?) being after Lamie last year when he wasn’t performing anywhere near the level he’s been at in the last 6 months?
Also wouldn’t be overly surprised to see Lamie (and Donnelly) rock up at St Mirren, especially with McCarthy knocking back a contract extension there today.