Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Handsome_Devil]

11 minutes ago, MurrayWell said:

The KvV situation shows that right now St Mirren and Kilmarnock likely pay a fair bit more than us. Agents will speak to pretty much half of the teams in this league when it comes to transfer windows, given the similar markets they all shop in, and names will get thrown about. We were linked with absolutely everyone in January. 

Time will tell but I suspect St Mirren will end paying around the same as us next season. Killie obviously an outlier with a backer but no point worrying about that.

2 minutes ago, one m in Motherwell said:

One thing I have noticed so far is that a good few teams are announcing PCAs and the like much earlier than I ever remember them doing.  I know we like to keep our cards close to our chest (for good reason) but I can't help but feel a little jealous...

Given our public position on them it's not a surprise we're keeping quiet. There's also little reason to do so at the minute beyond our own impatience as fans. 

I would guess we'll have a bit of news between the season ending and prior to Scotland dominating the agenda from early June to really push ST renewals.

[RandomGuy.]

The teams announcing deals are generally ones who have known what league they're going to be playing in for weeks/months.

[Swello]

20 minutes ago, MurrayWell said:

Tell ye what, it's going to be a very long summer if every signing anyone makes comes back to budget analysis. 

The KvV situation shows that right now St Mirren and Kilmarnock likely pay a fair bit more than us. Agents will speak to pretty much half of the teams in this league when it comes to transfer windows, given the similar markets they all shop in, and names will get thrown about. We were linked with absolutely everyone in January. 

Rooney is a solid signing at this level, would have been happy enough if we got him but I'm also not overly bothered we didn't. If Frail and Kettlewell's recent comments are true we're ahead with planning.

I think the KVV thing was an anomaly  - I think it was more of a pissing competition/stop the opposition getting him that was underwritten by their owner rather than a signal that they'll be spunking multiple thousands a week on 32 year old players regularly.

Other factor is that Killie and Saints have european football to offer and they finished higher up the league - they are simply a more attractive destination at the moment even where the financial package is very similar. We've benefitted from this precise thing in the past and it's their turn now which is fair enough.

I thought we recruited well in January and so I'm fairly confident that we'll have a better summer window this time around.

[Handsome_Devil]

Just now, Swello said:

Other factor is that Killie and Saints have european football to offer and they finished higher up the league - they are simply a more attractive destination at the moment even where the financial package is very similar. We've benefitted from this precise thing in the past and it's their turn now which is fair enough.

I know it's the sort of standard thing players duly trot out but at our level I simply don't believe them...players will consider the finances, contract security and chance for development under a particular manager/coach and decide on that. As much as Europe is a bit different and something fun, they'd be absolutely mental to make decisions for the next two-three years, which could impact their whole career, based on a couple rounds of qualifiers one summer.

That's not to say I disagree they're more attractive destinations atm, it's just the Euro thing winds me up when players spout this because I'm convinced it's bollocks.

[Swello]

1 minute ago, Handsome_Devil said:

I know it's the sort of standard thing players duly trot out but at our level I simply don't believe them...players will consider the finances, contract security and chance for development under a particular manager/coach and decide on that. As much as Europe is a bit different and something fun, they'd be absolutely mental to make decisions for the next two-three years, which could impact their whole career, based on a couple rounds of qualifiers one summer.

That's not to say I disagree they're more attractive destinations atm, it's just the Euro thing winds me up when players spout this because I'm convinced it's bollocks.

I agree that (non group stage) Europe isn't a draw in itself, but If the financial package on offer is practically the same - a player would legitimately see a club in the Top 6 and Europe as a route to more bonus money and exposure than one that has been around the fringes of the relegation equation and heading to Elgin in July.

[camer0n_mcd]

This all sets up nicely for a Stephen O'Donnell 3 year deal

[Handsome_Devil]

11 minutes ago, Swello said:

I agree that (non group stage) Europe isn't a draw in itself, but If the financial package on offer is practically the same - a player would legitimately see a club in the Top 6 and Europe as a route to more bonus money and exposure than one that has been around the fringes of the relegation equation and heading to Elgin in July.

Maybe you're right but I really don't think anyone picks a Motherwell, St Mirren, Killie or Dundee in the belief that because they made Europe or the top six one season, they're much more likely to do it again than the others the next. If the financial offer is roughly similar, I'd think the next decisive factor is who will improve and/or market me the best and - despite our recent stalling as a club in some ways - in that regard we can feel quietly confident. Or loudly confident if you're Kettlewell or our Twitter admin

[YassinMoutaouakil]

I wouldn't be surprised if we were in for him but Rooney doesn't seem like a wee nippy Ketts fullback. Maybe we'd have played him upfront.

[well fan for life]

We're signing that fella from down under and, famously, we've done well out of that market. Nothing to panic about, lads.

[StAndrew7]

2 hours ago, one m in Motherwell said:

One thing I have noticed so far is that a good few teams are announcing PCAs and the like much earlier than I ever remember them doing.  I know we like to keep our cards close to our chest (for good reason) but I can't help but feel a little jealous...

I think that's partly down to us not knowing our final league position just yet; we're already finishing guaranteed 9th, so that's +£60k on our budget position, but if we finish 7th that's what, an extra £180k or so in prize money? That's a fair wedge for us to sign another player or two/three and might change who we prioritise/target.

As others have said, it seems we're already far down the line in terms of recruitment based on Kettlewell and Frail's comments, but I don't expect us to make many announcements until after the season is over. I'd like one of the first to be an extra year for Bair, so we can hopefully build his value a bit before he outscores Lautaro Martinez at the Copa America and we sell him for £,£££,££££.
 

2 hours ago, Swello said:

I thought we recruited well in January and so I'm fairly confident that we'll have a better summer window this time around.

Aye, I agree with that. As much as some of our signings this year haven't been great (e.g. Wilkinson /Obika), I'd say the majority have done well. January brought us what we needed and we have kicked on since then, at least in terms of results, if not (defensive, mainly) performance.
 

29 minutes ago, well fan for life said:

We're signing that fella from down under and, famously, we've done well out of that market. Nothing to panic about, lads.

Steve McDonald was an absolute treasure.

Edited May 15 by StAndrew7

[Swello]

40 minutes ago, well fan for life said:

We're signing that fella from down under and, famously, we've done well out of that market. Nothing to panic about, lads.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

39 minutes ago, StAndrew7 said:

As others have said, it seems we're already far down the line in terms of recruitment based on Kettlewell and Frail's comments, but I don't expect us to make many announcements until after the season is over. I'd like one of the first to be an extra year for Bair, so we can hopefully build his value a bit before he outscores Lautaro Martinez at the Copa America and we sell him for £,£££,££££.

I hadn't realised they were in Argentina's group. I'll pay good money for a print of him marking Messi.

[capt_oats]

1 hour ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

I wouldn't be surprised if we were in for him but Rooney doesn't seem like a wee nippy Ketts fullback. Maybe we'd have played him upfront.

This was my thought as well. There was a vague rumour kicking about on the Fleetwood side that we were in for him in January which in the kind of mess that market is made sense but having seen us kick on since then along with the sort of wing backs we've done well with in this system (Furlong, Johnston, Montgomery(ish), Gent, Spencer and to an extent Devine) that's very much not Shaun Rooney.

While I don't doubt we'd have had an interest in Rooney, he's an entirely solid and sensible signing, I'd have thought that if we've got more of a blank canvas to work with over the summer then we'd be more likely to bring in more re-gens for that area of the park than an absolute maniac.

Edited May 15 by capt_oats

[YassinMoutaouakil]

21 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

This was my thought as well. There was a vague rumour kicking about on the Fleetwood side that we were in for him in January which in the kind of mess that market is made sense but having seen us kick on since then along with the sort of wing backs we've done well with in this system (Furlong, Johnston, Montgomery(ish), Gent, Spencer and to an extent Devine) that's very much not Shaun Rooney.

While I don't doubt we'd have had an interest in Rooney, he's an entirely solid and sensible signing, I'd have thought that if we've got more of a blank canvas to work with over the summer then we'd be more likely to bring in more re-gens for that area of the park than an absolute maniac.

Yeah this is where I'm at. If he'd fell into our lap I'd be perfectly happy with him but I imagine he'll be on a decent wage for ourselves or $t Mirr€n. Obviously Rooney is quite famously a goal scoring fullback but if we're pushing the boat out for one this summer (on either side) I think in our system I'd rather it's Gent/a Gent type.

[capt_oats]

3 hours ago, one m in Motherwell said:

One thing I have noticed so far is that a good few teams are announcing PCAs and the like much earlier than I ever remember them doing.  I know we like to keep our cards close to our chest (for good reason) but I can't help but feel a little jealous...

The Summer of Casper Sloth stands out as a bit different as we were announcing c***s in April - granted Tommy Wright did the Gallagher announcement for us (Gallagher - 11th April, Polworth - 17th April and Carroll - 29th April) & pretty much as soon as the season finished on 18th May (Sloth - 21st May, Hylton - 29th May).

Since then the majority of the announcements have tended to be in June.

Only Shields (27th May 2021) and Spittal (27th May 2022) have been May since and they were both a good couple of weeks after the respective seasons had finished.

[well1991]

Where is the best place to park around Easter Road? Sainsbury’s at Meadowbank Retail Park?  Ages since I’ve been. 

[thisGRAEME]

44 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

The Summer of Casper Sloth stands out as a bit different as we were announcing c***s in April - granted Tommy Wright did the Gallagher announcement for us (Gallagher - 11th April, Polworth - 17th April and Carroll - 29th April) & pretty much as soon as the season finished on 18th May (Sloth - 21st May, Hylton - 29th May).

As a small point of order, I believe I did this in advance of that because my barber told me he was signing for us. 

Then she waved a straight razor at me the next time I was in because I'd posted it on here. Fair play, you have to say.

[StAndrew7]

1 hour ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

I hadn't realised they were in Argentina's group. I'll pay good money for a print of him marking Messi.

Sadly he's retired; clearly knew he was going to meet his match in the bold Thelonius.

Edited May 15 by StAndrew7

[Alanos]

Yeah, cannae ref us any more. Maybe big Bevis can stay now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cy737dp7ljzo

 

Willie Collum wants to "alleviate the unsustainable burden on match officials" when he replaces Crawford Allan as the Scottish FA's new head of refereeing.

The 45-year-old will take up his duties in early July after resigning as a local authority education officer. 

Collum will end almost 30 years of refereeing – 20 of which were spent as a category one official and Fifa international referee – with immediate effect to replace Allan, who leaves the role at the end of the season.

Collum refereed at Euro 2016, in four Scottish Cup finals, two League Cup finals and in more than 250 Fifa and Uefa club and international competitions including the Champions League as well as World Cup and European Championship qualifiers.

“I am proud and honoured. I took up refereeing at the age of 14 and this is the culmination of some of the greatest experiences of my career," he said.

“I’ve been in the shoes of referees at every level and want to help others fulfil their potential by overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities.

“I was emphatic throughout the interview process that I want to improve, with consultation and consensus, the operation and delivery of VAR for all concerned. 

"I want to alleviate the unsustainable burden on our match officials and improve relations and mutual respect between match officials, club officials, players, coaches and fans."

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said he received applications from experienced candidates across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

When Allan, who has been in the role for four years and is leaving "to pursue new opportunities", announced he was stepping down, Maxwell admitted VAR processes needed to improve.

“We were clear we would leave no stone unturned in getting the best candidate for a job that has become significantly more demanding with the arrival of VAR," he said.

“It is to Willie’s great credit that he emerged as the outstanding candidate from such a strong international field."

Edited May 15 by Alanos

[Swami]

I think Rooney is shite, fwiw.