Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Casagolda]

10 hours ago, welldaft said:

I think some are being unfair on here. 

I watched the 2nd half and it reminded me of how we started the season. We were well on top before and during the two goals we scored. We actually started the game OK.

Not sure you can blame the Manager for the comic cuts defending. That is on the players. 

That is twice now we have come back from 2 goals down (3 times if you include doing it two times in the County game).  The does not suggest to me that the players have chucked it or are not playing for the Manager.

See to be fair I don’t think anyone on here has really accused the players of chucking it.

However there confidence has clearly been slowly eroded by a manager continually trying to fit square pegs in round holes and persist with things that clearly aren’t working. Just like Hammell did last season. Spencer being a prime example and to the surprise of nobody, it didn’t work again last night and he was hooked at half time.

Even then, we still started the second half with Blair Spittal in the left wing back role!! He finally brings Gent on and suddenly he offers us some pace and width. Spittal and Paton have more space to operate in, SODS has room to get forward down the other side and the strikers have somebody actually putting some balls into the box for them to attack. 

Fair play, last night was a good comeback but it’ll count for nothing and simply paper over the cracks if lessons aren’t actually learned going forwards. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by Casagolda

[Handsome_Devil]

4 minutes ago, Casagolda said:

See to be fair I don’t think anyone on here has really accused the players of chucking it.

However there confidence has clearly been slowly eroded by a manager continually trying to fit square pegs in round holes and persist with things that clearly aren’t working. Just like Hammell did last season. Spencer being a prime example and to the surprise of nobody, it didn’t work again last night and he was hooked at half time.

Even then, we still started the second half with Blair Spittal in the left wing back role!! He finally brings Gent on and suddenly he offers us some pace and width. Spittal and Paton have more space to operate in, SODS has room to get forward down the other side and the strikers have somebody actually putting some balls into the box for them to attack. 

TBF at half time last night I was, if not accusing the players of chucking it, certainly floating the suggestion they looked like a group waiting for the manager to be changed.

It's a valid point on the Spittal/Gent/Slattery shuffle, there's no doubt the top priority there was getting Slattery off before he was sent off. Ok, zvardovski could have come on instead so some credit due...but it wasn't managerial brilliance.

And yes, more than anything Kettlewell needs a huge sign in his office reminding him of 'natural positions only'.

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

9 hours ago, ropy said:

I’ve decided I like Bair, he won his first header when he came on, he had a great run down the left to get a cross in, he was always looking to knock the ball down for a team mate.  But he did manage to clear the ball off the line when Biereth laid it on a plate for him.

We should have won that.

I was about to post something similar. Bair definitely gives us something. I know that Saints fans mentioned that how much they willed him to do well, but I really find it hard to stay mad at him. He never hides in games and whilst I'm sure we'd all agree he lacks quality at times, he's always putting himself about.

Wilkinson found himself very unlucky not to have a goal last night. I'm not sure where he puts he can put his hand, but I understand those are given in this day and age. Despite this, and the assist for the first, I thought it was yet another night he struggled to impose himself on the game. 

Shaw, the less said the better. I can think of three games from the top of my head where he has fluffed his lines with the game hanging in the balance. I saw Kettlewell speaking to him on the pitch (I assume about that) last night and he then mentioned it again in his post match interview. He can't have been happy.

Unfortunately, it does seem that our strikers (including Biereth) appear to have had their best appearances as subsitutes lately. 

I can't decide whether we should persist with Wilkinson to see if he gets better with games, or just go with Bair and Mika up top. On merit, despite his obvious shortcomings, it's Bair for me at the moment.

[MP_MFC]

2 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:

And yes, more than anything Kettlewell needs a huge sign in his office reminding him of 'natural positions only'.

Can we hang a couple others?

'Stop signing your ex Ross County team members'
'No Oli Shaw'

[ropy]

Gent showed real passion at the equalising goal, or maybe he is just a bit mental, either way I’d like to see him start a game, Hopefully a left side of Blaney and Gent is strong enough.

[Reidy]

I can’t remember ever being less confident with a player (with pace) in a one-on-one situation as I was when Shaw broke clear last night 

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

5 minutes ago, MP_MFC said:

Can we hang a couple others?

'Stop signing your ex Ross County team members'
'No Oli Shaw'

Surely that one is 50/50? Paton has done well on the whole.

I'd take Ross Stewart if Southampton wanted to loan him out.

[Desp]

3 minutes ago, Reidy said:

I can’t remember ever being less confident with a player (with pace) in a one-on-one situation as I was when Shaw broke clear last night 

Get him down the road this morning.  Shouldn't be seen in a Motherwell shirt again.  Simply because he is utterly, utterly, shite.

[Desp]

1 minute ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

Surely that one is 50/50? Paton has done well on the whole.

I'd take Ross Stewart if Southampton wanted to loan him out.

I'd take Ross Stewart the goalie at this point in time.

[well fan for life]

Might turn up wearing a bright orange t-shirt with JUST STOP OLI on it to get my point across. 

[Handsome_Devil]

16 minutes ago, Desp said:

Get him down the road this morning.  Shouldn't be seen in a Motherwell shirt again.  Simply because he is utterly, utterly, shite.

I said during the game I'd have brought on Ross for the last minutes and you can only hope last night was Shaw's last (missed) chance.

Our more successful managers were usually quite good at holding their hands up when signings didn't work out and Kettlewell ditching his pride to send Shaw packing asap is definitely needed.

[thisGRAEME]

54 minutes ago, MurrayWell said:

Bair's link up play was great again, really don't understand the criticism that comes his way. He'd have bagged the winner if Shaw had anything about him. 

Agreed. I was surprised to see the criticism of him on here last night, I still think he's the best option alongside Biereth, or in the role he was in last night. While someone like Shaw seems to be losing confidence every week, Bair actually feels like he's growing further into the team and his role, accelerating away from folk last night was new! His wee step over to give Gent the whole of the left hand side of the park for the goal was lovely awareness too, in a team which, in reality, I feel takes way too many touches in general, which quickened the play.

49 minutes ago, Casagolda said:

Fair play, last night was a good comeback but it’ll count for nothing and simply paper over the cracks if lessons aren’t actually learned going forwards. 

I mean this is always true, I suppose. I'm not sure we'll be good for any length of time this season, but I think that's true of basically every team in the league as well. 

That said, f**k it, Gent and Spencer in from the start, it'll be a laugh! 

Full agreement on Shaw as well. He's had a lot of chances, and hasn't come close to looking like a player for us. Ross may be raw, may be young, but with 5 minutes to go I don't think that kind of youthful exuberance would've been a problem, and I'm pretty certain he'd have found Bair for a winner in the same situation.

[Allroy for Prez]

Folk defended Oli Shaw when he passed the ball back to the goalie v St Mirren, had a lazy predictable effort v Rangers and now last night’s abomination. Get him hunted!

I’d like to see Gent and Spencer on Saturday with O’Donnell having a lengthy season long stint in the bench. Based on the last few game me Casey needs dropped too. Maybe’s just not as good as we hoped/thought he would be?

Surely Davor has to start at some point now? 

[redstarcvedza]

3 hours ago, Gianfranco said:

Sounds like he’s an out-ball that we’ve been missing. 
 

Surely worth a run in the team despite his defensive frailties. 

Can't see how Gent would make the defence any worse that it has been in recent weeks.

Using him and Spencer for some pace and verve out wide would give us more options in the way we play.

On a more serious note to my untrained eye I'm wondering given the trauma he has gone through over past couple of years whether Slattery needs some counselling. His performance levels are unusually variable.

 

 

[Swello]

Watching SODS last night made me sad - the amount of basic, crap mistakes (passing the ball out the park, passing it straight to the nearest opposition player) he makes now is unbelievable - it's hard to see why he would still be a first pick and it's hard to argue that we shouldn't just go with fast young boys again and at least occupy the opposition's fullbacks. It's not like being defensively solid is even a thing at the moment.

In our good run, our midfield was excellent - Slattery going off a cliff and Lennon Miller having an inevitable dip is a big problem for us as they were outstanding at the start of the season.

Still aboard the Bair bus too - 2nd choice forward for me (Wilkinson can clearly finish - but his overall play is as lower english league as you're likely to see).

[Desp]

I think Slattery's issue is that when things aren't going well for us, he tries to take on far too much and do too much.  This then leads to things going wrong, getting frustrated and he either gets sent off and subbed before he's sent off.

His best performances is when he keeps it simple or sticks to what he's best at.  We need to stick with him in the side, but we need a manager, a coach, or a mad b*****d at centre half to grab a hold of him to tell him to keep it simple.

[Busta Nut]

Get Slattery off free kicks too, he's completely shite at them.

I am all for Bair. Young full backs getting a run now. (Davor I'd like to see too, I reckon a run of games and we'd have a good sitting midfielder in there)

[MP_MFC]

For saturday:

Kelly (let's be honest, he's not going to get dropped)

Spencer Mugabi Butcher Blaney Gent

Slattery Davor Spittal

Biereth Bair

Dae it, Kettlewell.

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

45 minutes ago, Allroy for Prez said:

Folk defended Oli Shaw when he passed the ball back to the goalie v St Mirren, had a lazy predictable effort v Rangers and now last night’s abomination. Get him hunted!

I’d like to see Gent and Spencer on Saturday with O’Donnell having a lengthy season long stint in the bench. Based on the last few game me Casey needs dropped too. Maybe’s just not as good as we hoped/thought he would be?

Surely Davor has to start at some point now? 

Is Casey perhaps struggling from a case of the Chrissy "I'd literally have signed anywhere else offering me more money so I missed pre season" Long?

Only the master of the art, Scott McDonald, has done that successfully.

[AdamMFC]

9 minutes ago, MP_MFC said:

For saturday:

Kelly (let's be honest, he's not going to get dropped)

Spencer Mugabi Butcher Blaney Gent

Slattery Davor Spittal

Biereth Bair

Dae it, Kettlewell.

This is the team I'd want to see on Saturday as well.