Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[MurrayWell]

Looks like we've moved quickly...

[Marinello]

Looking ahead to Saturday and our problems ( whoever the manager)seem to deepen.

What kind of defence is anybody's guess what with the injuries to Casey, Butcher, apparently Mugabi and perhaps Mc Ginn not having recovered.

As for the bench!!!!!!!

 

[dezz]

I'm expecting Casey to be out for the long term - looked like a broken leg watching the stream. 

I didn't realise that Mugabi being subbed was due to an injury as well! If him, Butcher and McGinn are all out, the defence could be something to behold on Saturday! Genuinely don't even know how we'd line up; Spencer, SOD, Blaney, Gent in a 4?

[Al B]

Wilkinson at centre half obvs.

[Handsome_Devil]

12 minutes ago, Al B said:

Wilkinson at centre half obvs.

But he's never played there before and won't know what's he's oh.

[Jonnylosqualo]

19 minutes ago, dezz said:

Genuinely don't even know how we'd line up; Spencer, SOD, Blaney, Gent in a 4?

Spittal left back and Gent on the bench

[well fan for life]

At this point I can't wait to see what he's cooking up for Saturday. 

[rowsdower]

Back three of mcginn Blaney and O'Donnell, Spencer on the right, wilkinson on the left, the killer b's up front, and kettlewell in midfield, hitting people with a loaded clipboard.

[thisGRAEME]

Is it not about time we unearthed some wonderfully talented 16 year old to save us?

[capt_oats]

Just now, thisGRAEME said:

Is it not about time we unearthed some wonderfully talented 16 year old to save us?

I see Lennon Miller's wee brother has signed with us.

[CoF]

4 hours ago, thisGRAEME said:

"Do plan A better"

"Do plan A better...... but such is football that using your time wisely and thinking about the aspects we've made up for in the last few days training, and I've spoken before about not deviating from the patterns and standards we set at the football club and I take encouragement from the success we've had from working a certain way and what could have and should have been the right thing for us in terms of the aspects of the game plan, and what I can tell you is and I think everyone in this room knows that there are variables in those aspects that we can't control ...." (and so on......)

 

I'm becoming more and more convinced the Kettlewell simply isn't a good communicator. If you break up what he says into chunks, it's all probably fair enough, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if the players sit with him for an hour and come out none the wiser about what they're being asked to do. 

[Swello]

If we lose the first goal on Saturday, Fir Park isn't going to be a place for the fainthearted....

[Handsome_Devil]

17 minutes ago, Swello said:

When we lose the first goal on Saturday, Fir Park isn't going to be a place for the fainthearted....

Fixed that for you!

[santheman]

Having suffered an 8 hour round trip to witness yet more dross I had convinced myself that I couldn't go through the same on Saturday so wasn't going to go.

However on reflection I think we all need to turn up to support the team as best we can in what must be a make or break game for Kettlewell.

If they don't fly out the traps and show 100% and its more of the same crap then for me that's it, there's no way back for them.

I sincerely hope he's given them the morning off, had them in this afternoon, locked the dressing room door, had a clear the air session and nobody gets out till they get to the bottom of what's gone wrong.

[Allroy for Prez]

12 minutes ago, santheman said:

Having suffered an 8 hour round trip to witness yet more dross I had convinced myself that I couldn't go through the same on Saturday so wasn't going to go.

However on reflection I think we all need to turn up to support the team as best we can in what must be a make or break game for Kettlewell.

If they don't fly out the traps and show 100% and its more of the same crap then for me that's it, there's no way back for them.

I sincerely hope he's given them the morning off, had them in this afternoon, locked the dressing room door, had a clear the air session and nobody gets out till they get to the bottom of what's gone wrong.

I see where you’re coming from but this team is beyond redemption.

I fully expect to be a goal down within the first 5 minutes again. Possibly a Kelly howler from a corner. 

[Quatermass]

Said it yesterday if there is a vacancy and he is an actual option get Neil Lennon in. Plenty of experience and if he does the job for us I could not care one jot about anything else.

Every chance he knows there will be a more attractive vacancy up North soon enough and will just bide his time though.

[capt_oats]

H/T to Narey's Toepoker for these numbers.

It's one for the smooth brain "it's because they sold KVV" takes...

In his first 23 games we averaged 1.69 goals for and 0.86 against

In the last 12 we've averaged 1.08 for and 2.08 against.

Edited December 6, 2023 by capt_oats

[Swello]

25 minutes ago, santheman said:

Having suffered an 8 hour round trip to witness yet more dross I had convinced myself that I couldn't go through the same on Saturday so wasn't going to go.

However on reflection I think we all need to turn up to support the team as best we can in what must be a make or break game for Kettlewell.

Weird thing is that when we are this bad, I lose interest in football more widely but I end up wanting to go to actual games more- no idea why (and hence the reason I was Dingwall last night).

[Mr Hahn]

4 hours ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

I don't think you even need to be that good defensively when you've got three centre backs behind you. Surely, if a winger roasts him, then the left-sided centre back comes across to cover. 

For me, what we don't have in an attacking sense down the left-hand side is as much of a concern than what we do have defensively.

This is exactly it. And surely we don't even need to look that far for precedent as to why this is the case. Furlong last year looked like a pretty nervous kid when we first started him but I think a lot of us realised 5-3-2 was an ideal set up to get him bedded in. It gave cover for if he messed up defensively and allowed him to get comfortable, playing on his natural side, to find his feet in first team football.

Surely the same applies to Gent in that if he's not great defensively, or makes a few mistakes, 5-3-2 should provide decent cover for him. He's proved (in his laughably short time on the park) that he's decent enough in an attacking sense so why not try him from the start and see how it goes. It can't be any worse and surely goes without saying that if we're worried it'll make us weak defensively, we're already there. We're conceding goals for fun and at least having a natural player on the left side and freeing up Spencer to be on his natural side is trying something different that might work. 

Obviously preaching to the choir on this thread but I don't really understand how Kettlewell doesn't see it as we pretty much had the same situation when he arrived last season.

[ATLIS]

18 hours ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

I thought the chat was that he didn't have a contract and that "refusing" him permission to speak to St Johnstone didn't actually count for anything, legally at least 

It's a weird agreement he has where he's said that any decision on his future is made by the club. He's not interested in leaving until he's told to (if an opportunity is too good or if he's sacked). Even if he could walk for 'free' without a contract it'd still be our board making the decision. I can't see us letting him go to a relegation rival. That's not to say that if there was some daft mental deal where a 'transfer fee' of sorts was stumped up that we'd then say no but it's all a bit weird.

To be fair you could wait a few weeks and get him for nothing if he ends up getting sacked