Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[RandomGuy.]

34 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

What a time though...he's 19 here.

Not sure ill word this right, but feel like hes a good example of how opportunity/luck can shape a players career.

Everything just fell perfectly for him for a short spell and he got a move more talented players wont thanks to that.

Michael O'Halloran was similar, also to Rangers, where the best 3 months of his career coincided perfectly with a poor Rangers side + us getting a cup tie at Ibrox, and ended with him getting a move that financially he wouldnt get elsewhere. 

[YassinMoutaouakil]

41 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

What a time though...he's 19 here.

Watching all these back to back I think he really just wanted to do anything rather than pass to Main

[MurrayWell]

4 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

Not sure ill word this right, but feel like hes a good example of how opportunity/luck can shape a players career.

Everything just fell perfectly for him for a short spell and he got a move more talented players wont thanks to that.

Michael O'Halloran was similar, also to Rangers, where the best 3 months of his career coincided perfectly with a poor Rangers side + us getting a cup tie at Ibrox, and ended with him getting a move that financially he wouldnt get elsewhere. 

Think that's pretty fair tbh. 

Hastie isn't as bad as his recent history would show, but he probably wasn't good enough to make that purple patch permanent. 

At 24, he's still got plenty of time, don't see why he couldn't do something similar to what Dom Thomas has done. Perhaps won't be back in the top flight but can have a good career in the lower leagues of the SPFL. 

[eliphas]

Aye, I very much think the flip side is that Jake Hastie got a great 4 year deal on very good money from Rangers.

We'll never know but I think he was as likely to fall to his current level if he stayed at us than if he made the move he did. Money in the bank, very well set up and still earning ok money I'll bet. 

The fact he was advised by a part time agent who is a fire man by trade is another story for another time.

[Ron Aldo]

Jake Hastie. LOL. 

Probably shows that, from a financial point of view at least, he was right to move to Rangers. He might be shite but at least he's rich and shite. 

[Neil86]

See that's another youngster away down south, Jevan Beattie (Craig Beattie's son) away to Sheffield United.

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

I guess we've all got assumptions about what could've or would've happened with Hastie.

If you find yourself ending one season with 2 goals in 31 games for Airdrie in league one and the next season you have a four year contract on several grand a week in front of you, where you don't even need to move house, you'd be daft not to take it*

There's no doubt to me he was coming back in that January hoping, rather than expecting, to get a new contract with us.

I think there's an alternate universe where Elliott Frear doesn't get injured in that cup game against Ross County and the purple patch never comes.

*I do still highly doubt I could bring myself to sign for Rangers personally

[Handsome_Devil]

Hastie clearly had - has in fact - potential but he strikes me as a classic 'good player without a widely viable position'. He's not really a left winger, isn't Robben so got found out on the right, isn't a solo through the middle... could he have worked as a rampaging rather than creative 10? I've not followed his career in that much detail but he strikes me as Danny Johnston scenario - if your only position is one of a starting two up front you're going to find options are limited very quickly.

Still he hope he turns it round mind, I've nothing against him. And if so another return would be great - as said above, that five month spell was wonderful.

[Busta Nut]

Meh, I mind at the time the chat was Hastie had a massive purple patch and we're ok with him leaving. 

Maybe he was poorly managed but he got found out once he wasn't an unknown and he's not been very good since.

[Gianfranco]

I just remembered sitting at Ayr college every Tuesday night seeing the mental amount of goals the youth team Hastie was in scored and conceded back then on Twitter. 
 

I still hope he can go on to have a decent career in the seaside leagues. 
 

It must be right annoying being head of our youth development with the amount of players that are poached before they get anywhere near the first team. 

[thisGRAEME]

4 hours ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

Oh aye, there is a fair line between a self-confessed Rangers fan and someone who literally signs autographs with "FTP".

I think fans get too caught up in their perceived personalities of players. 

I mean aye, there's an element of that, but as well I just don't really think he's very y'know, good.

I don't really feel he ever has got to grips with top flight football. Wasn't good enough for Rangers, hasn't really ever nailed down a spot for Hearts, so are we the level he's at? Will see I guess. 

[camer0n_mcd]

Halliday is fine short-term. Certainly not a player that would have been top any Motherwell fans wishlist's, but a guy that's played 100+ premiership matches in a position that we need cover in will do me.

[CoF]

See when folk say Hastie got found out, can someone explain what the opposition found out about him?

Only thing I can think of (and this is from the highlights reel, not memory), is how one-footed he seems to be. 

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

25 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

I don't really feel he ever has got to grips with top flight football. Wasn't good enough for Rangers, hasn't really ever nailed down a spot for Hearts, so are we the level he's at? Will see I guess. 

I wish it wasn't the case, but I think we are. In that in this day and age we are a marked step down from Hearts, as well as the sad fact that it won't take that much to improve our squad.

[capt_oats]

36 minutes ago, CoF said:

See when folk say Hastie got found out, can someone explain what the opposition found out about him?

Only thing I can think of (and this is from the highlights reel, not memory), is how one-footed he seems to be. 

Basically that the opposition found out how to nullify him in the position Robinson persisted in playing him.

To the point @Gianfranco made earlier about the impact Hastie made on the at Development level - Craigan often used him on the left or even played him through the centre whereas Robinson was completely fixated on his 433 with inverted wingers.

I went along to watch that Development side a lot and tbh, I'd argue that Craigan was the only manager who actually managed to get consistent performances out of Hastie.

Even then it was pretty common knowledge that he wasn't viewed as a priority when he was brought back from Alloa - the main focus was getting Turnbull and Scott tied down on long term deals.

Given the way Robinson handled his loan spell then chances are that it'd have gone the same way even if he'd knocked Rangers back and signed an extension with us. He'd just have had far less money in the bank.

Clearly a lot of the responsibility is on the player but that's not to say that his career couldn't have gone a different way and his all round game been developed because he had all the tools.

Edited January 16 by capt_oats

[eliphas]

100% forgot about Jimmy Scott. Photo on the horse please if someone gets a minute.

[capt_oats]

2 hours ago, eliphas said:

100% forgot about Jimmy Scott. Photo on the horse please if someone gets a minute.

[well fan for life]

9 hours ago, capt_oats said:

Basically that the opposition found out how to nullify him in the position Robinson persisted in playing him.

To the point @Gianfranco made earlier about the impact Hastie made on the at Development level - Craigan often used him on the left or even played him through the centre whereas Robinson was completely fixated on his 433 with inverted wingers.

I went along to watch that Development side a lot and tbh, I'd argue that Craigan was the only manager who actually managed to get consistent performances out of Hastie.

Even then it was pretty common knowledge that he wasn't viewed as a priority when he was brought back from Alloa - the main focus was getting Turnbull and Scott tied down on long term deals.

Given the way Robinson handled his loan spell then chances are that it'd have gone the same way even if he'd knocked Rangers back and signed an extension with us. He'd just have had far less money in the bank.

Clearly a lot of the responsibility is on the player but that's not to say that his career couldn't have gone a different way and his all round game been developed because he had all the tools.

There was a point on his return where a few of us thought we should give him a run on the left and tell him his only job is to cross the ball as often as possible. Unfortunately he was doomed to playing inverted and, coupled with him looking like his confidence was shot to ribbons, the loan was a total bust. 

Fair play to him for getting paid handsomely for a couple of years. If he's sensible he'll have enough behind him to keep him comfortable. 

[capt_oats]

36 minutes ago, well fan for life said:

There was a point on his return where a few of us thought we should give him a run on the left and tell him his only job is to cross the ball as often as possible. Unfortunately he was doomed to playing inverted and, coupled with him looking like his confidence was shot to ribbons, the loan was a total bust. 

Fair play to him for getting paid handsomely for a couple of years. If he's sensible he'll have enough behind him to keep him comfortable. 

Aye.

Reading my posts back from last night there was quite a heavy "Poor Jake Hastie..." vibe which wasn't really intended. Clearly it's on him to take ownership of the direction of travel of his career. The whole 'Stop The 10' incident had a daft laddie who's out of his depth energy.

At the same time I definitely stand by the idea that he was poorly handled - Rangers seemed to decide they'd been sold a pup immediately and the loan spell he had where he was destined to continually run into dead ends on a weekly basis because of the way Robinson set up (and was doing nothing to correct it) shot any confidence he had left to pieces and I don't really think his career has ever really recovered from it.

Edited January 17 by capt_oats

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

I always question Robinson's priorities the summer that he brought him back on loan.

We signed Hastie, White, Lang and Cole, renewed Watt and Long's contract, with Seedorf already cutting about, whilst relying on McGinley and Lamie to make up part of our first choice defence and starting the season with Turnbull on the left of a front three.