Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Archie McSquackle]

That's a huge blow. Mr Dependable. Wonder how we'll rejig what has been a fairly settled defence.

[MurrayWell]

That's a blow for sure, big fan of Paul McGinn. 

Important to note that the defence as a unit has been much better this season, with everyone looking settled when they've had to slot in. No question we'll miss McGinn's influence, but I think our defensive options have all looked pretty solid so far this season. 

[StAndrew7]

21 minutes ago, Archie McSquackle said:

That's a huge blow. Mr Dependable. Wonder how we'll rejig what has been a fairly settled defence.

Probably just slot Casey back in with Balmer and Gordon. Casey on the left, Balmer on the right.

As others have said, McGinn will be a big miss; I think his influence on the back three and ability to read the game/recover possession is a great asset.

I do think we have more than capable players to step in, though; we've been discussing the depth of the squad for a while so time to test it, I guess!

Edited 21 hours ago by StAndrew7

[supermarv]

Gutted that McGinn is out I was slightly critical of him at the start but last season and this season he’s been outstanding especially playing RCB. However it could be a blessing in disguise as we should get to see Balmer, Gordon and Casey who I’ve been looking forward to seeing together as all look excellent. 

[Handsome_Devil]

2 minutes ago, StAndrew7 said:

Probably just slot Casey back in with Balmer and Gordon. Casey on the left, Balmer on the right.

That'll surely be the first solution but I think, while it will hopefully be ok defensively, we'll miss his competence on the ball and ability to join the midfield.

Another serious muscle injury from something innocuous though, dig out a gif representing suspicion.

Edited 21 hours ago by Handsome_Devil

[MurrayWell]

On 11/10/2024 at 10:26, thisGRAEME said:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Wilson has signed a contract which will subsequently be announced, because releasing that video if he hasn't feels a bit mad?

[Gianfranco]

Hooray Wilson isn’t going to Strum Graz as he’s signed a new deal until 2027. Not without a big fee anyway. 

[Gianfranco]

Losing McGinn is a blow as he’s a great leader and role model.

I think we should see a back three of Casey Gordon and Balmer and I’m already looking forward to Casey getting on the end of those chaos long throws.

[Handsome_Devil]

3 minutes ago, Gianfranco said:

Hooray Wilson isn’t going to Strum Graz as he’s signed a new deal until 2027. Not without a big fee anyway. 

Aye and the now inevitable club option for another year to 2028, which will have him 23 and at the cut off for youth compo should he leave ooc.

Hat-tip to all involved, Wilson and Ox were my two contract priorities (assuming there's little we can do with Miller, it's entirely down to him) so getting them tied down for so long so early would seem to be excellent business.

[Handsome_Devil]

4 minutes ago, Gianfranco said:

Losing McGinn is a blow as he’s a great leader and role model.

I think we should see a back three of Casey Gordon and Balmer and I’m already looking forward to Casey getting on the end of those chaos long throws.

It's not what I'd like immediately but I'd also be curious to see what having SOD as rcb would be like - that would replace the possession aspect of mcginn and allow one of the fast guys in at rwb.

I appreciate we're not Barcelona but I think the fall off on how we build play from the back on Saturday will be really noticeable. Perhaps harsh on Balmer, he might be more settled on the ball on his good side than on the left at ER ofc.

[StAndrew7]

2 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:

I appreciate we're not Barcelona but I think the fall off on how we build play from the back on Saturday will be really noticeable. Perhaps harsh on Balmer, he might be more settled on the ball on his good side than on the left at ER ofc.

Aye. It was what, his second start since July? He'll take time to get fully up to speed, the fact he wasn't a total disaster and did OK is a plus for me. I agree he'll likely be better on the right than the left, where i think Casey and Wilson have built a decent partnership; mainly down to the latter bailing the former out on several occasions

[Archie McSquackle]

16 minutes ago, StAndrew7 said:

Probably just slot Casey back in with Balmer and Gordon. Casey on the left, Balmer on the right.

As others have said, McGinn will be a big miss; I think his influence on the back three and ability to read the game/recover possession is a great asset.

I do think we have more than capable players to step in, though; we've been discussing the depth of the squad for a while so time to test it, I guess!

I'm assuming that's the lineup we'll go with and Blaney will be on the bench as backup centre half.

If it's felt that Casey is uncomfortable on the right then we could move SOD in and go with one of our many options at right back.

[wellboy1991]

38 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:

I appreciate we're not Barcelona but I think the fall off on how we build play from the back on Saturday will be really noticeable. Perhaps harsh on Balmer, he might be more settled on the ball on his good side than on the left at ER ofc.

I’m not soo sure tbh. The Edinburgh City game that he played his passing from the back was crisp, sharp and accurate. He looked more than capable on the ball. So don’t think that will be an issue. 

[capt_oats]

29 minutes ago, Archie McSquackle said:

I'm assuming that's the lineup we'll go with and Blaney will be on the bench as backup centre half.

If it's felt that Casey is uncomfortable on the right then we could move SOD in and go with one of our many options at right back.

Balmer's a right sided centre back so I don't really see why we wouldn't just drop him in there from the jump and have Casey over on the left where he's been sound.

[camer0n_mcd]

Signing Wilson on is excellent business, would I be being pessimistic if I said I can see Wilson becoming a Lewis Stevenson type that is a good premiership player but never quite good enough to make a step up.

Casey-Gordon-Balmer seems the obvious solution to McGinn being injured, as much as seeing McGinn out injured is disappointing it does get rid of Kettlewell's Balmer's long throws Vs Casey's chaos headache.

I'm with Handsome_Devil, I thought his distribution against Hibs was poor but in that first half pretty much everyone's distribution was all over the place so I'm not going to hold that against him too much.

[StAndrew7]

44 minutes ago, Archie McSquackle said:

I'm assuming that's the lineup we'll go with and Blaney will be on the bench as backup centre half.

If it's felt that Casey is uncomfortable on the right then we could move SOD in and go with one of our many options at right back.

Aye, I imagine JohnnyK might be back in the picture, too, although I think Ketts has him in mind for the RWB slot.

I feel a bit for Blaney; he got some (in my mind) unfair criticism last season when he was probably one of our most consistent defenders whenever he was brought in. He was absolutely outstanding at Ibrox and then was dropped the next week for, I dunno, reasons?

He's definitely fine as a back-up/occasional starter but I can't really see him going much beyond that.

Edited 20 hours ago by StAndrew7

[Cedrics Mighty Well Army]

Now that Scotland U-21s cannot qualify, I would be surprised to see Miller called up to the "big boys" for their largely meaningless last two games. Even if he is on the bench the experience will be good.

Only 24 days to the next international break!

[dezz]

13 minutes ago, Cedrics Mighty Well Army said:

Now that Scotland U-21s cannot qualify, I would be surprised to see Miller called up to the "big boys" for their largely meaningless last two games. Even if he is on the bench the experience will be good.

Only 24 days to the next international break!

I’d be delighted to see Miller in the squad for the next 2 Scotland games from a Motherwell/transfer fee point of view, but these games are far from meaningless.

As difficult as it’ll be, 3 or 4 points could see us into 3rd meaning a playoff to stay in League A and potentially sneaking into Pot 2 for the WC qualifiers depending on results elsewhere.

Two wins and we could end up 2nd (if Portugal win both their games) meaning we’d be in the NL quarter finals and Pot 1 for the WC qualifiers. 

[joewarkfanclub]

Big blow for McGinn with the injury as he had been having a pretty good season.

From a team perspective, its not an absolute disaster as we have cover.

The obvious one is just to slot Balmer straight in there and bring Casey back in. This is probably what SK will do just from a team/man management perspective as he seems keen for players to have to force their way into the team unless someone gets injured / suspended.

The other option would be tuck SoD in one in the McGinn role. That would seem like a natural swap.

I would be excited to see what Kaleta could do with a run in the team, but Id totally forgotten about Koutroumbis and he is our player, so I would imagine SK would be keen to have him involved sooner or later.

Big decision for SK but nice to have options that dont necessarily weaken the team.

Also, great to see Wilson get his extension. Thoroughly deserved and protects our investment.

[David1979]

51 minutes ago, camer0n_mcd said:

Signing Wilson on is excellent business, would I be being pessimistic if I said I can see Wilson becoming a Lewis Stevenson type that is a good premiership player but never quite good enough to make a step up.

Not at all. I've mentioned this to a few people. However, not every young player who comes through the ranks and performs well needs to be or will be sold for seven figures.

Personally, I believe he’s a very good player, but his specific attributes aren't particularly rare down south. Players of his calibre are quite common in the Championship and League One, I think.

That said, him signing a new contract and establishing himself as a solid first-team player for Motherwell is definitely a positive development, and he could become one of the key players we build our team around each summer.