Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Phillips455]

From the top point earners to the joint lowest. October has been a pathetic month with only 1 point out of 15(!).  We basically need qlteast 7 points out of the next 12 in November at Minimum to keep us on Track and that includes Aberdeen (A), Hearts (H), Dundee (A), Dundee United (H)....

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by Phillips455

[thisGRAEME]

It'll no do. 

That we continue to put in the same performances, with the same personnel, the same gaping deficiencies in the plan, and seem to think "let's just try and be better at it" is pretty concerning. 

I actually really feel for a few members of the squad who are knocking their pan in for little reward.

[Kapowzer]

SOD riding high at Wembley, since then .....

• Conceded a penalty on opening day
• Scored an OG on GW2
• Caught Covid
• Lost Scotland place to youngster with 15 senior games
• Was culpable for Celtic's opener
• General poor form and performances
• Red card today

.... Carlsberg don't do a shite 4 months, but if they did ........

Edited October 31, 2021 by Kapowzer

[Desp]

Gary Neville was bang on. 

This guy will not do. This isn't League 2 in England. Shite tactics, shite defending, launching ball after ball 50 yards towards the forward players. No idea what to do when we have the ball in the final third. 

The last 4 days have tipped me over the edge with this manager. Not good enough. 

[RandomGuy.]

I was never sure how to word it, as I know how it'll sound, but when looking at the league a few weeks back you guys stood out as ones whos underlying numbers were brutal but were being saved by scoring goals.

Sides like Aberdeen and even County were putting in numbers that suggested they'd start picking results up, while you lot have consistently sat just off the bottom throughout the season. Different ways to skin a cat etc., but shipping 60%+ possession + creating less chances every week isn't a formula that'll bring success over a season I don't think. Interesting it seems to be coming true.

[Dons_1988]

1 minute ago, RandomGuy. said:

I was never sure how to word it, as I know how it'll sound, but when looking at the league a few weeks back you guys stood out as ones whos underlying numbers were brutal but were being saved by scoring goals.

Sides like Aberdeen and even County were putting in numbers that suggested they'd start picking results up, while you lot have consistently sat just off the bottom throughout the season. Different ways to skin a cat etc., but shipping 60%+ possession + creating less chances every week isn't a formula that'll bring success over a season I don't think. Interesting it seems to be coming true.

Dave cormack likes this 

[Kapowzer]

9 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

It'll no do. 

That we continue to put in the same performances, with the same personnel, the same gaping deficiencies in the plan, and seem to think "let's just try and be better at it" is pretty concerning. 

I actually really feel for a few members of the squad who are knocking their pan in for little reward.

I'm more modest of my expectations against the OF than in my youth, back then it was common to take 4-7 points off them a season. Finances have changed since and now I just want to avoid a scudding while conscious our league record is approaching 20 years. Considering they are stuttering after their 30 point margin last year to be on the receiving end of their first cricket score this term is bitter to take.

Our two men corners are the talisman for this. Not switched it up, no 1-2, no pass to edge of 18 yard box, just predictable. Roll it forward 2 ft, teammate stops it, whipped in. Repeat x50 since League Cup groups.

Carroll must be sitting there thinking "what the actual f**k do I have to do?". I can only think GA doesn't feel he can trust him to see out 90 minutes without a red. Talking of which, a forthcoming suspension for our captain is the only bright spark out of the ashes from today.

Regardless if your midfield is lacking and has been for some years, to face a team playing a high press, shite yourselves every time you get the ball and thump it back no further than the halfway line for them to start again at you is chronic.

Too many players bottled it after their third, that team spirit much lauded only a month ago has been devoid as much as invention and being unpredictable. If you are playing 4-3-3 and only one of the 3 are contributing then you need to look at changing that 3 and I'm not talking about a personnel switch.

10% fitness, 20% Players not good enough, 30% Player attitudes, 40% Tactics. But as player recruitment, fitness and tactics are in the managers wheelhouse, he can take 70% for today.

 

[ZX1886]

Gary Neville was bang on. 
This guy will not do. This isn't League 2 in England. Shite tactics, shite defending, launching ball after ball 50 yards towards the forward players. No idea what to do when we have the ball in the final third. 
The last 4 days have tipped me over the edge with this manager. Not good enough. 

In terms of the squad: No manager can come in and sign 11 great players in one full transfer window, GA still has to move on some of the spineless cowards that Robinson signed so I’m inclined to give him the January transfer window to get those bodies in.

In terms of his tactics: I have no idea, he must recognise he doesn’t have the right players yet to play the way he wants and so adapt, but he doesn’t. At our best, we’re boring to watch, and at our worst, we’re infuriating to watch.

[Mr Hahn]

11 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

I was never sure how to word it, as I know how it'll sound, but when looking at the league a few weeks back you guys stood out as ones whos underlying numbers were brutal but were being saved by scoring goals.

Sides like Aberdeen and even County were putting in numbers that suggested they'd start picking results up, while you lot have consistently sat just off the bottom throughout the season. Different ways to skin a cat etc., but shipping 60%+ possession + creating less chances every week isn't a formula that'll bring success over a season I don't think. Interesting it seems to be coming true.

This is difficult to argue with given what we've watched this season. We have a team who can barely string passes together and, as your post suggests, the last few weeks very much feel like the chickens coming home to roost. 

When we were winning games, we certainly weren't outplaying teams and I'm not even convinced we were out-competing teams. We were just taking our chances when they came and that was the difference. 

To me, we look like a championship side playing Premiership teams in the cup. Endeavor generally plentiful and defense will head/clear/block everything, but in general play they struggle when on the ball and don't spend much time keeping it. This willnae dae for the whole season.

I appreciate our midfielders are pish, but clearly only playing 3 of them isn't working. We're getting so badly dominated in that area of the park every week that the only solution I see is to put another body in there and try a different system. 4-3-3 is dandy when you've got three midfielders with good movement and interplay but we don't and I'm not really sure why we've persisted with 4-3-3 for so long, particularly as it was the same system that the previous manager played.

[thisGRAEME]

Hearing that we were doing well by letting rangers whip about 400 crosses in is something, for sure.

[fat_tony]

No problem with the first 40 or so minutes today. Very much how we've played the OF many times before trying to keep it tight until half time.

But if that's the game plan there has to be a part two where we build on the half time base, put them under pressure and actually try to score a goal.

The fact that our entire tactic for every game seems to be to invite teams onto us and concede the wide areas is playing with fire. Most teams in the league aren't good enough to take advantage of the possession but we got absolutely burnt by it today.

I feel sorry for both SOD and McGinley as they are hung out to dry each week. Even if they do something good (as both did at a few points today), the fact we're conceding those wide areas means it's almost always those two end up getting caught out. I get that neither are exactly world-beaters anyway but I don't think either of them is as bad as these tactics make them, if that makes sense.

Our forwards must be permanently raging with the lack of service they get under this system.

[well fan for life]

2 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

Hearing that we were doing well by letting rangers whip about 400 crosses in is something, for sure.

Personally I liked how we made no effort to stop any of them. 

[YassinMoutaouakil]

I'm a bit less scunnered than I was two hours ago,if Watt scores at 1-0 or someone bothers to close down Tavernier then we could very well have taken something. That fucking second half though man.

I desperately hope we see a "BACK THREE'S BACK" post at about 2pm next Saturday.

[ZX1886]

I think our performance was summed up when 20 seconds into game McGinley managed to hit a car parked behind the East Stand.

[Cardle is Magic]

Second week in a row that a team has taken the lead at home to Rangers and then turned into utter shitebags. Miserable stuff.

Not a clue what penalty Alexander was moaning about post-match? Don’t even remember the incident.

[RandomGuy.]

6 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

Hearing that we were doing well by letting rangers whip about 400 crosses in is something, for sure.

44 crosses they had.

[thisGRAEME]

4 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

I desperately hope we see a "BACK THREE'S BACK" post at about 2pm next Saturday.

I don't disagree with this from a practical point of view, but very much do from having a 6 options across the front three point of view to do something with.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Just now, thisGRAEME said:

I don't disagree with this from a practical point of view, but very much do from having a 6 options across the front three point of view to do something with.

Let Tony choose his own strike partner each week

[fat_tony]

Let Tony choose his own strike partner each week

Does it have to be a Motherwell player?

[Ron Aldo]

I've always thought of 4-3-3 as being quite an attacking formation and we make that look brutal. f**k knows what we'd be like playing 5-4-1 or something like that.