Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[capt_oats]

On the recruitment thing, our department has taken a bit of a kicking over the past couple of seasons but I guess this season is as good an example as any that things are a bit more nuanced than "Player X is/isn't shite".

These are the 18 (EIGHTEEN) players we've signed this season. Clearly that number is slightly inflated because we had to replace 3 of the players from the first half of the season due to them either being broken or just didn't want to be here.

Some have been unequivocal hits, some have done a job, some have been unlucky due to circumstances and some have ended up just not being needed because the manager who signed them was in the middle of a trolley dash panic:

• Blair Spittal
• Paul McGinn
• Josh Morris
• Aston Oxborough
• Stuart McKinstry (loan)
• Matt Penney (loan)
• Rolando Aarons (loan)
• Louis Moult (loan)
• Shane Blaney
• Ollie Crankshaw (loan)
• Mikael Mandron
• Riku Danzaki
• Jack Aitchison
• James Furlong (loan)
• Jon Obika (loan)
• Dan Casey
• Callum Butcher
• Harry Paton

Interestingly the only reason it seems Obika is here is because Mandron picked up an injury straight away but with the way things have panned out we've needed both to get the best out of KVV.

Also, 7 of those that are fit/still at the club are actually contributing in the XI that have dug us out a hole under Kettlewell - which actually kind of feels like a decent-ish hit rate and I'm not sure that would have been the view after getting bodied out the Cup in Kirkcaldy.

[Marinello]

Took in Accies game against Alloa on Saturday ( I know, I know!).

3 Motherwell linked players  playing for Alloa ;

David Devine-- On loan. Did fine but found it hard playing alongside 65 year old Andy Graham once down to 10 men.

Ross Maciver- Ended up at right back as Alloa imploded. Still didn't stop him from trying to  replicate his goal for us away to County.

Connor Sammon-- Never the fastest but after Alloa went down to 10 men he was left up front on his own. 

 Piano and pulling come to mind!

 

As for game one word , mayhem . First half saw 6 goals, a red card, a penalty and a fans protest.

Serious concerns from Accies fans over "definite" disorder when Airdrie visit for 2 nd leg next Saturday. They say this is  due to the ongoing disgruntlement of Accies fans and the baggage' of the away fans.. Factor in that its a play off final and a Lanarkshire derby. What could go wrong?

Watch this space.

 

 

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

For me, you can place Spittal, McGinn, Furlong, Casey, Butcher and probably Penney in to the definite success category. If McKinstry hadn't been benched since February for reasons somewhat out of his control I'd probably place him in there too.

You've then got Mandron, Obika and Paton (albeit on a very small sample set) who have been useful for us. Mandron and Obika haven't been world beaters in their own right - but what they have done is facilitated getting the best out of Van Veen.

I don't think outwith them, many of the others have had enough of a run in the team to have had a marked negative effect on the team this season. We've been fortunate that we've not signed someone who isn't up to it, but circumstances have dictated we need to play them - see Craig Clay, Zak Jules, Tyler Magloire etc. 

 

[thisGRAEME]

10 minutes ago, Marinello said:

David Devine-- On loan. Did fine but found it hard playing alongside 65 year old Andy Graham once down to 10 men.

I'll stand for many things but I will not stand for Andy Graham slander.

[Kapowzer]

10 minutes ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

We've been fortunate that we've not signed someone who isn't up to it, but circumstances have dictated we need to play them - see Craig Clay, Zak Jules, Tyler Magloire etc. 

 

<Cough> … Ricki “signed” in the summer …..

I’d put him firmly in that category.

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

9 minutes ago, Kapowzer said:

<Cough> … Ricki “signed” in the summer …..

I’d put him firmly in that category.

Players who were already here being a problem is a completely different discussion from players we signed being a problem.

[capt_oats]

16 minutes ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

For me, you can place Spittal, McGinn, Furlong, Casey, Butcher and probably Penney in to the definite success category. If McKinstry hadn't been benched since February for reasons somewhat out of his control I'd probably place him in there too.

You've then got Mandron, Obika and Paton (albeit on a very small sample set) who have been useful for us. Mandron and Obika haven't been world beaters in their own right - but what they have done is facilitated getting the best out of Van Veen.

I don't think outwith them, many of the others have had enough of a run in the team to have had a marked negative effect on the team this season. We've been fortunate that we've not signed someone who isn't up to it, but circumstances have dictated we need to play them - see Craig Clay, Zak Jules, Tyler Magloire etc. 

Aye, I think compared with the last PANIC transfer window - the one in the aftermath of Robinson's resignation and Foyle handed in his notice this one's worked out a bit better.

For comparison, that window was:

• Liam Kelly (loan)
• Steven Lawless
• Harry Smith (loan)
• Sam Foley
• Robbie Crawford (loan made permanent)
• Jordan Roberts (loan)
• Eddie Nolan
• Tyler Magloire (loan)

That one felt like Grezza got more out of what was already in the building than what we signed in that window and the fact that Eddie Nolan literally never played a game for us probably speaks to that point.

I've mentioned this before but broadly it feels like the recruitment with Daws as HoR has seen more players come in who are fine but without the obvious peaks that Foyle/Robinson had - Carson, Kipré etc and probably less long term wastage on punts.

Whether or not that justifies the money apparently spent last season is probably a different question however we finished 5th and qualified for Europe so that probably balances out.

[Swello]

For all that it felt random, scattergun and last minute - the fact is that we had a good January window when all's said and done - at the time Utd and Killie who were at the bottom with us failed to improve anything while we unquestionably did (changing manager was obviously the other main thing).

Edited May 15, 2023 by Swello

[Desp]

1 hour ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

Craig Clay, Zak Jules, Tyler Magloire etc. 

 

Better or worse than Mark O'Brien, would you say?

[thisGRAEME]

4 minutes ago, Desp said:

Better or worse than Mark O'Brien, would you say?

He was stinking. Magloire wasn't fantastic by any stretch, but O'Brien was absolutely howling.

Craig Clay wasn't that bad, IMO. 

[dezz]

Craig Clay was the epitome of meh. Other than his 'wind assisted pot-shot' up at Inverness (I think that's how the ICT twitter described it at the time), I don't think he did anything of note either good or bad - unlike Mark O'Brien who was awful.

I noticed that Clay played the majority of games for Leyton Orient this season as they won promotion to League One. Not sure what that suggests about the quality of English L2...

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

16 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

He was stinking. Magloire wasn't fantastic by any stretch, but O'Brien was absolutely howling.

Craig Clay wasn't that bad, IMO. 

Desp is just trying to get a rise out of me as I've been very vocal on my opinion of Mark O'Brien's ability, or lack thereof in the past 

I feel bad putting Clay in that bracket as his attitude and application were spot on, but I just felt he was lacking quality.

[MurrayWell]

Craig Clay wasn't the best, but he was no Lee Lucas or Jake Taylor...

[Archie McSquackle]

4 hours ago, Swello said:

I know it's all about the data now -but how does data modelling attempt to capture the "intangibles"? I'm sure this has been attempted as raw numbers alone aren't enough to depict what a player is really like, regardless of the algorithm used - and "human stuff" matters as well as pace or how many headers someone wins.

One of the aspects that both Butcher and Casey bring is a bit of leadership, a bit of agression - setting the tone for the team in a way that we were pathetically crying out for at the turn of the year. As supporters, we're actually very good at spotting these sorts of "positive" traits in players and it's clear that since they came in, they've brought a lot more than just basic competence.

Simplistically, data would get you Zak Jules but it wouldn't get you Peter Hartley.

Going by that photo, Peter Hartley should have been born a few hundred years ago and been a pirate. Ahaaar!

[Swello]

1 hour ago, MurrayWell said:

Craig Clay wasn't the best, but he was no Lee Lucas or Jake Taylor...

Lee Lucas was the anti-Craig Clay - clearly a fairly talented but totally broken footballer.

[Gianfranco]

Jake Taylor and Gow are the only two players I remember who got ironic cheers when we subbed them off. 
 

Taylor is the only player I can remember who visibly hid during games. God knows why Baraclough kept playing him.

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

3 hours ago, Swello said:

Lee Lucas was the anti-Craig Clay - clearly a fairly talented but totally broken footballer.

I remember Lee Lucas being tremendous in a 4-1 win against Ross County that season. Sadly we could barely keep him fit afterwards. The only thing of note I remember otherwise is his daft red against Accies.

[capt_oats]

13 minutes ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

I remember Lee Lucas being tremendous in a 4-1 win against Ross County that season. Sadly we could barely keep him fit afterwards. The only thing of note I remember otherwise is his daft red against Accies.

Lionel's goal btw.

[DeadStar]

18 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

Lionel's goal btw.

Any excuse for Lionel footage.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Lee Lucas was brilliant on his day. Almost Goss-esque.