Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[YassinMoutaouakil]

On 24/12/2018 at 20:17, RandomGuy. said:

Just pure speculation, but I'm sure I read somewhere Peter Pawlett is on the move this January and has had "plenty of interest" from clubs up here.

I'd take Pawlett. At least he's got a good song.

[dezz]

99% of that group are absolute roasters. There's the odd post which makes sense but you need to trawl through some amount of shite to find them.

That facebook page is something else! As you say, 99% of the post are a pile of shite with not a punctuation mark in sight.

It’s brain damage stuff.

[capt_oats]

As an aside, I thought it was of note that's the first time this season (that I can recall) where Robinson's came out and essentially said we were shite in response to the usual soft soaping from the YouTube channel. Lasley was pretty much the same in his post-match on Saturday.

Words to the effect of; it wasn't good enough, the fans were right, we deserved all the criticism we got...it's quite the pivot from the recent defeats where it's been a case of "we'll take the positives from the performance."

Perhaps it's because it's the week before the window opens and he knows he gets to bin players and so forth but Robinson sounded quite delighted at the prospect of getting to January and making changes. Casagolda mentioned it last week but there are definite echoes to this time last season when Robinson effectively wrote off our strikers and went out and brought in Main and Nadir early in the window.

[MJC]

There's only so much soft soaping that he can get away with, he needs to call a spade a spade and we were utter shite on Saturday. Not unlucky, not spirited, not battling away but just didn't get the break so we go again bla, bla, bla....we were utter shite and that needs to be highlighted.

To save his job and our season Robinson really does need to produce similar in the window as he did at this time last year but that's a big, big ask in mid season to find players who can make the difference and who will be available and affordable to us. This month is absolutely massive for us and we need a massive improvement on the shambles that was the summer transfer window.

[Ya Bezzer!]

There is no point even bringing in new players if we don't transform the style of football that Robinson has absolutely pinned his colours to since he came in.

This smacks of Robinson blaming his own philosophy on the players.

[Casagolda]

6 hours ago, capt_oats said:

Perhaps it's because it's the week before the window opens and he knows he gets to bin players and so forth but Robinson sounded quite delighted at the prospect of getting to January and making changes. Casagolda mentioned it last week but there are definite echoes to this time last season when Robinson effectively wrote off our strikers and went out and brought in Main and Nadir early in the window.

Right on cue.

EDIT- Also has apparently said to the press the club have received an offer for Bowman.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Casagolda

[dezz]

If memory serves, it was Grimsby who were in for Bowman previously. Would be very surprised if the offer wasn’t accepted and the big man was on his way.

[Ya Bezzer!]

Total career league goals for Motherwell in the present squad.

Bowman - 10

Main - 7

Cadden, Johnson, Tanner - 6

Campbell - 4

We've failed to score in more than a third (actually 36%) of the 70 league matches Robinson has been in charge of.   Bit of a problem.

[capt_oats]

1 hour ago, Casagolda said:

Right on cue.

EDIT- Also has apparently said to the press the club have received an offer for Bowman.

Paging @well fan for life.

In all seriousness if we manage to get some cash in for big Herbalife...bloody hell.

[well fan for life]

I reckon if we get any offers even if it's a bus fare for the likes of Bowman, Main, Frear etc. they'll be gone. I'm amazed there is anyone out there interested in Bowman who I would say is one of the worst footballers at the club. At this point I'd be sound if Main fucked off and never came back. He's been shite for months, looks raging to be playing then capped it off with a spectacular display of stupidity today. Even last week against St Mirren he was screaming punching the ground when Bigirimana didn't play a quick free kick to him when he was out wide and marked by 2 folk. 

I'm not convinced by Johnson either. He's had a couple of good finishes but his all round game is lacking in every way. No hold up play, no strength, no passing. At best he's a bit part player. In January we should be looking at 2-3 strikers minimum and no more folk who are grafters and nothing else. We need quality which I understand is easier said than done. 

[Ya Bezzer!]

For me Main is far from the worst player in this squad although clearly he couldn't hit the side of a barn when it comes to shooting/heading but I said last time out, after Main missed a couple of decent chances against St. Mirren that James Scott should get his chance in the two upcoming matches.  What was there to lose?  Maybe, just maybe, he could have done something.

The whole Main incident today basically serves Robinson right for not taking any kind of risk.  

I've strongly criticised McHugh in the past for his disciplinary record and getting needlessly sent off and although I think Main, despite the goal drought, does some good work outside the box, I'm afraid I just don't have time for guys that do the sort of thing we saw from him today.

Manager needs to get tough on these guys.   If Main gets made an example of, no complaint from me.

 

[ropy]

Why did the subs warm up at half time?

[dezz]

It’s certainly going to be an interesting January.

I reckon we’ll be seeing the back of Frear, Bowman, Newell and obviously Rose, with Bigi and Main in the ‘maybe’ category if we can find someone who wants to take them off our hands. Wouldn’t be disappointed to see any of them go aside from Bigi who I think has something to offer but not in a Robinson team.

Onto the manager, as others have said, while we are sitting 9th and with the success of the cup runs and Kipre sale there isn’t really a metric that Robinson isn’t hitting in the eyes of the board. He’s keeping us in the league (as it stands) and is assisting in reducing our debt quicker than the board would have expected. Being honest, I don’t imagine style of play is a particularly high priority for the club.

No arguments from me that the style of football is rotten but now that he’s virtually admitted he made an arse of the summer window I think he deserves the chance to fix that in January. It’s not ideal but if he can get us through to the summer in 9th with potentially a bit of cash coming from development fee compensation for Cadden and Turnbull then hopefully he’ll have learned from this summer and realise you need a bit more than a gang of big, strong, honest boys for the club to progress.

I’m not entirely convinced another manager in our price bracket could realistically get much more out of this squad than Robinson is.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Honestly I'm impressed that we haven't had four head knocks in one game before given our style of play.

[capt_oats]

2 hours ago, Casagolda said:

Right on cue.

EDIT- Also has apparently said to the press the club have received an offer for Bowman.

There's loads of that interview that's interesting. From (correctly) taking strips off Main to his checklist for the striker.

He's saying we need wide players (plural) and seems very specific in terms of needing quality up front. It's difficult not to read the below in relation to the specific qualities the players we have currently lack.

Quote

It's something that has to be sorted out. That costs money. That top end of the pitch costs money. That little bit of quality costs money. You know, if you're going to buy an article that's further down the line in terms of someone's got pace but with football intelligence as well or someone who has great ability on the ball but lacks pace, you know we have to now try and put our eggs in that basket up front and try and invest in that forward player. I think I need a couple of wide players and I think I need another centre forward...

Robinson's regularly referenced our budget in terms of the market we're operating in and how all that's framed by the strategy and the model. It's not often he's spoken in terms of us actually having to actually invest in specific players.

Presumably if Bowman was kept out the squad today on account of the offer from the "unnamed club" then it's a deal we're keen on making happen.

Edit: It's apparently Exeter who are interested in the Geordie Ribery (via BBC).

Quote

Exeter City have become the second English League Two club to signal interest in Motherwell striker Ryan Bowman.

A bid of a five-figure sum was received earlier this week for the former Gateshead striker from an unknown club.

Exeter are now considering attempting to sign the 27-year-old, who was left out the squad of Motherwell's 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Bowman's contract expires at the end of the season.

Speaking after Saturday's defeat, manager Stephen Robinson said: "We may have an offer for Ryan Bowman.

"It came in very late in the day so we felt it was in everyone's best interests that he wasn't involved."

Since Joining the Scottish Premiership side in 2016, Bowman, who was subject of a bid from Grimsby Town in the summer, has played 86 times for Motherwell, scoring 14 goals and providing 13 assists.

 

Edited December 26, 2018 by capt_oats

[Swello]

It probably sums up our problem best when there is literally no attacking player that would be a major loss were they to leave next week. We've been spoiled rotten with strikers for years (apart from Higdon, who was apparently shite) and have rarely been without a player or two that other teams around us would have in a heartbeat - but that simply isn't the case now. I'm sure there has been a time where we have had a bigger paucity of attacking talent - but I genuinely can't think of it right now (although I do just about remember Stevie Cowan leading the line for us).

Of all the attackers we have - Johnson is literally the only one I'd be mildly disappointed to see leave as I think in the right team, where you need someone to stick chances away, he'd be decent- but if we are relying on him outside the box, he's not at the level we need right now.

 

[YassinMoutaouakil]

"A bid of a five-figure sum was received earlier this week"

Whoever it is, we're ripping them off by at least £10,000. 

[ropy]

£412.57

[wellinwigan]

Can't believe we will get money for Bowman. Nice guy maybe but never a footballer. Let's hope get a club for Main and we can get Sammon back to hearts

[Ya Bezzer!]

5 minutes ago, wellinwigan said:

Can't believe we will get money for Bowman. Nice guy maybe but never a footballer. Let's hope get a club for Main and we can get Sammon back to hearts

We apparently got half a million for Heneghan so nothing should surprise you now.