Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[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

[ropy]

The tactic of waiting until everyone is injured and we are down to the bare bones is an excellent one.  At that point there are no decisions to make, the team picks itself.  Did we not beat Aberdeen with Adam Cummins and Jonathon Page as central defenders.  Let that be the model, bring on the dancing youngsters.

Edited December 6, 2023 by ropy

['WellDel]

11 minutes ago, ropy said:

The tactic of waiting until everyone is injured and we are down to the bare bones is an excellent one.  At that point there are no decisions to make, the team picks itself.  Did we not beat Aberdeen with Adam Cummins and Jonathon Page as central defenders.  Let that be the model, bring on the marching youngsters.

Aye, a Christmas '23 remake of that game, with 2 new laddies recreating the defensive pairing high fiving each other after every clearance for the entire 90mins and leading us to an unlikely win. Every 'Well fans new favourite festive feelgood watch. If only we had a couple of lads who fit the bill (or if we do, they were at least in the building)...

Edited December 6, 2023 by 'WellDel

[AdamMFC]

I woke up this morning and was surprised to not see an announcement that we'd parted ways with him so it does seem that he'll be with us until at least Saturdays game.

Edited December 6, 2023 by AdamMFC

['WellDel]

1 minute ago, AdamMFC said:

I soke up this morning and was surprised to not see an announcement that we'd parted ways with him so it does seem that he'll be with us until at least Saturdays game.

Maybe we did pop him at 9am and they've just not been able to escape from his goodbye monologue and parting speech yet to announce it.

[eliphas]

Same, no idea how he's managed to last til this point following last night and the preceding 11 games.

I mean he's less than subtly thrown the players under the bus by making sure he told the press that the management team plaster stuff on the walls and leave no stones unturned. Even Kelly was parroting that line out last night. He's also admitted to having no more ideas essentially. He did helpfully leave out his poor selection choices from his comments though or admitting he might have got somthring... anything wrong.

Can't imagine it's a great atmosphere in there at all. 

 

[YassinMoutaouakil]

I'm close to supporting St Mirren tonight 

[capt_oats]

In fairness, going back to Alexander's binning Burrows pretty much came out after it and explained that the board tended to wait until the dust had settled before making a decision.

I get that Hammell was emptied a couple of hours after the Raith game but given we were playing in Dingwall last night I'd have thought they'd maybe wait until today and everyone sits down.

Like I say, his contract is up at the end of the season so it's not like this should be a prohibitive financial hit when we finally bin him.

[Afc69]

2 hours ago, Quatermass said:

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.

At Aberdeen? No chance, fans would never take to Lennon, he’d be run out of town almost before he’d arrived.

[ropy]

26 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

I'm close to supporting St Mirren tonight 

I sort of forgot that other teams play football.  So it can get worse tonight?

[YassinMoutaouakil]

8 minutes ago, ropy said:

I sort of forgot that other teams play football.  So it can get worse tonight?

St Mirren go 11 points ahead of us if they win. I haven't looked at any other games/permutations 

[ropy]

1 minute ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

St Mirren go 11 points ahead of us if they win. I haven't looked at any other games/permutations 

We’ll make 11 points up in our post winter break surge.  We just need to decide who leads the charge.

[capt_oats]

This is a good piece from Nick McPheat.

[Ceiling Granny]

22 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

This is a good piece from Nick McPheat.

We all knew it, still depressing to see it written down on the bbc. 

[SteelyDosser]

4 hours ago, CoF said:

 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. 

Just like the journalists..

[Quatermass]

It’s 100% finished. He’ll never claw it back. We are just wasting time. Something that St Johnstone and Ross County never did.

If we beat St Johnstone (ha) and draw with St Mirren (ha) then it just reads as 1 win in 14. There is no escaping the failure bar an extended winning run of four or five games which has absolutely next to no chance of happening.  The club is a total bin fire and now that the BBC are openly pointing it out it might nudge us towards action on all fronts.
 

[Dosser1886]

1 hour ago, capt_oats said:

This is a good piece from Nick McPheat.

 Reads more like a lazy journalist trawling football forums for a story

[JamesP_81]

So Kelly has the worst save % in the league . 

I. Am . Shocked.  

[Richie]

9 minutes ago, Dosser1886 said:

 Reads more like a lazy journalist trawling football forums for a story

He was in the elections to join the Well Society Board.

His pitch was pretty decent to be fair.