Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Handsome_Devil]

1 hour ago, welldaft said:

I am not disagreeing. In fact I am agreeing .

All I am just saying (for the umpteenth time) I am not sure why anyone thinks they can come in and make a return from buying into Motherwell football club when countless others have tried with many different, bigger and more attractive clubs and failed miserably. 

 

No worries, I wasn't meaning you in particular, it just happened yours was the comment which sparked my latest rant

[Swello]

It's definitely been a thing over long years that not many of our standard players actually go on to do better elsewhere (although they always make more money), regardless of their form/popularity at Fir Park. Last season's O'Hara at Saints was clearly a mile above anything that we got out of him but other than that, you're down to players that weren't "our standard" and were clearly destined for a higher level (eg, Kipre, Campbell, Turnbull, Randolph).

We're great at getting players to the point where they get a decent move/payrise - but not many make that next step once they are there.

[PauloPerth]

Not sure why Motherwell fans are upset about that article, there’s nothing untrue or critical in it.

Bair was terrible for us. He came into a struggling side, started badly and never recovered. 

I’ve never known a player get so much support for failing so badly. Everyone was desperate for him to do well, but he genuinely looked like he was playing football for the first time.

It’s great how he’s turned it around with Motherwell. He’s a young lad in a new country who seems like a decent person, so its good to see how well he’s done.

It’s fair to say the attention and expectation were much lower at Motherwell and he benefitted greatly from that. Scoring in his first game got him off to a great start.

[capt_oats]

11 minutes ago, PauloPerth said:

Not sure why Motherwell fans are upset about that article, there’s nothing untrue or critical in it.

Bair was terrible for us. He came into a struggling side, started badly and never recovered. 

I’ve never known a player get so much support for failing so badly. Everyone was desperate for him to do well, but he genuinely looked like he was playing football for the first time.

It’s great how he’s turned it around with Motherwell. He’s a young lad in a new country who seems like a decent person, so its good to see how well he’s done.

It’s fair to say the attention and expectation were much lower at Motherwell and he benefitted greatly from that. Scoring in his first game got him off to a great start.

Tbf, I don't think anyone's actually *upset* about it. Most, if not all, understand the situation around Bair/St Johnstone/us. It's been covered enough.

It's more a side-eye that Nicolson's talking about it...again.

As I said earlier, it may be that he's watched that video we put out and has taken the comments about Saints personally but I think @YassinMoutaouakil sums it up in the post above (especially if it's not part of a bigger interview):

44 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

Gordon comes across as pretty well there but I still find the premise of the article a bit bizarre. I assume its part of a bigger interview than just "I know it's an international break Liam, but here- wasn't Theo Bair shite?"

That said, you can't knock Eric's commitment to taking a bullet for Davidson and MacLean. Fair play.

[RandomGuy.]

There's an interview with Gordon talking about an incident in the Dundee game too, so it feels like an interview done a few weeks ago that's being used to pad out Saints news over the International break.

[well fan for life]

1 hour ago, PauloPerth said:

Not sure why Motherwell fans are upset about that article, there’s nothing untrue or critical in it.

 

We just collectively laugh at Nicolson after he said it was "utterly inexplicable" that we overlooked Tommy Wright in favour of Graham Alexander when we were in a relegation shitfight.  Obviously that whole situation ended up in disaster later but in that first season we wound up comfortably staying up and Tommy Wright seen Killie get relegated.

 

 

[Vietnam91]

If Oli Shaw finishes next season in double figures with about 7 assists that would probably be the closest thing for us to the surprise the farmers are feeling about seeing Bair today.

You can only assume Nicholson really, really likes the complimentary half time press box pies with all the pass interference he runs.

He’s the human equivalent of a Celtic press release on something trivial but emotive a few days before an AGM.

[CoF]

Just spotted Airdrie are in a strong spot for the play-offs. Anyone care if they come up or not? I started going to games mid 90's so just a bit too young to have any sense of that rivalry. 

[Swello]

58 minutes ago, CoF said:

Just spotted Airdrie are in a strong spot for the play-offs. Anyone care if they come up or not? I started going to games mid 90's so just a bit too young to have any sense of that rivalry. 

It'll be nostalgic to have a plastic pitch-ed local rival that cares about said rivalry more than we do. 

[santheman]

2 hours ago, CoF said:

Just spotted Airdrie are in a strong spot for the play-offs. Anyone care if they come up or not? I started going to games mid 90's so just a bit too young to have any sense of that rivalry. 

The old Broomfield was a great place to watch a game with a terrific atmosphere when we played up there. Section B and all that, blood and thunder on the park and running battles outside, happy days.

Remember having to walk there and back from Motherwell one New Year when all the buses and trains were off and getting chased through Chapelhall on the way home.

 

 

 

[Vietnam91]

1 hour ago, santheman said:

The old Broomfield was a great place to watch a game with a terrific atmosphere when we played up there. Section B and all that, blood and thunder on the park and running battles outside, happy days.

Remember having to walk there and back from Motherwell one New Year when all the buses and trains were off and getting chased through Chapelhall on the way home.

 

 

 

Safe to say your steak pie was in the dugs belly when you got to Cleland

[redstarcvedza]

3 hours ago, santheman said:

The old Broomfield was a great place to watch a game with a terrific atmosphere when we played up there. Section B and all that, blood and thunder on the park and running battles outside, happy days.

Remember having to walk there and back from Motherwell one New Year when all the buses and trains were off and getting chased through Chapelhall on the way home.

 

 

 

Me and my mate made the tactical error of wearing our well scarves down Airdrie main street. Got chased to his Grans house in Thrashbush where we collected her mental alsatian for protection

[SteelyDosser]

46 minutes ago, redstarcvedza said:

Me and my mate made the tactical error of wearing our well scarves down Airdrie main street. Got chased to his Grans house in Thrashbush where we collected her mental alsatian for protection

Wonder how Harry Potter scarves went down in Airdrie during its popularity 

[joewarkfanclub]

9 hours ago, CoF said:

Just spotted Airdrie are in a strong spot for the play-offs. Anyone care if they come up or not? I started going to games mid 90's so just a bit too young to have any sense of that rivalry. 

Airdrieonians are like the Rangers.

Deid!

[Handsome_Devil]

19 hours ago, CoF said:

Just spotted Airdrie are in a strong spot for the play-offs. Anyone care if they come up or not? I started going to games mid 90's so just a bit too young to have any sense of that rivalry. 

I'd love them to come up. There was a much bigger rivalry with them than Hamilton back in the day and I've no doubt it'd return soon.

But tbh I'd just find playing any team which has the edge of a derby more interesting than interchangeable St Mirren, St Johnstone etc of the other six.

[thisGRAEME]

2 hours ago, Handsome_Devil said:

I'd love them to come up. There was a much bigger rivalry with them than Hamilton back in the day and I've no doubt it'd return soon.

But tbh I'd just find playing any team which has the edge of a derby more interesting than interchangeable St Mirren, St Johnstone etc of the other six.

Million percent aye. 

As much as Accies kind of developed into a derby, for the folk, I dunno, ten years younger than me, it is the derby, simply due to the scarcity of games we have against Airdrie United. It's a handful of games since the mid-nineties.

That said, bring it back. It'll be a laugh.

[Cedrics Mighty Well Army]

Most of the "entertaining" meetings took place in the pre-Buckie days. Wonder what it would be like today.

[TPAFKA Jersey 2]

On 23/03/2024 at 10:16, fat_tony said:

I considered mentioning Mandron but other than that wee purple patch earlier in the season I don't think he's really done much. Certainly not a redemption arc on the trajectory of Theo Bair's.

 

Don't think there's much between the two players in terms of performance this season (Bair 11 goals and Mandron 10), but the bit in bold is a bit of weird take. Mandron's goals have been pretty much sporadic throughout the season and if either player has had a "purple patch" it's Bair, having scored 8 of his 11 goals in a one and a half month spell at the start of this year.

Anyway, bald men, combs etc etc.

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

It's easy for us to say now that Bair has hit a bit of form, that we identified him as a player who we could transform into the player has become. It could be that we did actually sign him as a squad player and he's been given the platform to flourish due to the fact he's remained fit and available for selection when all of our other striking options haven't. The truth is probably somewhere in between. On his worst day this season, I still thought his graft and attitude brought something to the team. It is quite funny to see everyone associated with St. Johnstone Football Club tying themselves in knots at the suggestion his performances last season may have been something to do with them and not only him.

As for Mandron, I know last season he perhaps wasn't the most graceful striker we've ever seen, but he did a decent job as foil for KVV. I said in the summer that for availability's sake alone, I would have kept him instead of Obika. Had we done so, we probably wouldn't have needed to sign Oli Shaw either. I wouldn't have expected him to get double figures right enough, so fair play to him. However, I wouldn't say it's strictly comparing apples for apples with his 10 to Bair's 11. I think the League Cup group section can certainly inflate a player's goal return for a season these days, see Elliott Frear for us as an example. Of course, we all use all competitions when it suits our narrative and league only when it suits our narrative, but I think these days the latter is a more accurate marker. 

[TPAFKA Jersey 2]

32 minutes ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

It's easy for us to say now that Bair has hit a bit of form, that we identified him as a player who we could transform into the player has become. It could be that we did actually sign him as a squad player and he's been given the platform to flourish due to the fact he's remained fit and available for selection when all of our other striking options haven't. The truth is probably somewhere in between. On his worst day this season, I still thought his graft and attitude brought something to the team. It is quite funny to see everyone associated with St. Johnstone Football Club tying themselves in knots at the suggestion his performances last season may have been something to do with them and not only him.

As for Mandron, I know last season he perhaps wasn't the most graceful striker we've ever seen, but he did a decent job as foil for KVV. I said in the summer that for availability's sake alone, I would have kept him instead of Obika. Had we done so, we probably wouldn't have needed to sign Oli Shaw either. I wouldn't have expected him to get double figures right enough, so fair play to him. However, I wouldn't say it's strictly comparing apples for apples with his 10 to Bair's 11. I think the League Cup group section can certainly inflate a player's goal return for a season these days, see Elliott Frear for us as an example. Of course, we all use all competitions when it suits our narrative and league only when it suits our narrative, but I think these days the latter is a more accurate marker. 

Yeah  the bit in bold is very fair comment. Mandron scored 3 of his 10 goals in the LC Group stage, but like you say, there’s nothing between the players I don’t think. I doubt you’d find a St. Mirren fan happy to swap Mandron for Bair and I’m sure the opposite would be true of Motherwell fans. 

My point in my previous post was more about thinking it was odd the poster referred to Mandron having a purple patch (which he hasn’t) when Bair very much has had one. He scored 2 goals in Motherwell’s first 19 games. He then scored 8 goals in 6 consecutive games. Since then he’s scored 1 goal in 5 games. 
That’s the very definition of a purple patch to me.