Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Busta Nut]

MFC Podcast Off-Air Signing/Q&A Evening 

 

This Monday, 7pm start at the Centenary Suite (free entry with a copy of the book) - Chris Cadden, Suzanne Grant, Ben Heneghan, Louis Moult, Willie Pettigrew and Kevin Twaddle will all be in attendance, there will be a Q&A, free pies at the break, the bar will be open and the televisions will be showing Liverpool v Manchester United.

 

We hope to still have copies left to sell but can't make any guarantees at the moment, all copies ordered before mid-day Saturday will be sent in time to arrive before the event on Monday night. Raffle prizes for Monday evening......http://www.mfc1886.c...odcast-off-air/

 

List of Raffle Prizes

 

Signed home top
Signed ball
Match-day hospitality for two as guests of the Well Society
Scottish Cup final MFC Strip 
James McFadden signed print
Signed 'Off-Air' book
Special Peroni prize - (mmm beer)

 

Hope to see some of you there. 

 

Cheers!

Edited October 14, 2016 by Busta Nut

[Casagolda]

On 14 October 2016 at 10:53, thisGRAEME said:

Anyone know if I'd be right in thinking he'd be limited in his physical preparation as well? I'd assume he isn't training just now, so even when he gets the green light from his head injury, he'll be long short of match fitness?

I'd think so, be lucky to see him again this year I'd imagine. 

That was McHugh, Blyth, Lucas and the lesser spotted Belic all missing from the squad for Saturday. We knew Lucas was a crock when we signed him and Blyth's appearance record so far makes Wes Fletcher look reliable. Take it we're also all in agreement that McGhee had never seen this boy Belic play in his life and it turns out that he's pretty pish? Looks the very definition of a panic signing, Semih Aydilek mk II. 

Can't see Belic and Lucas being here beyond their contracts in January to be honest. Could see Blyth getting moved on as well if we could find any takers. You get the feeling he's not impressed the management so far, Craigan was hardly full of praise for his performance with the U20's the other week. With the signing of Bowman and the form of Mackin for the 20's you'd argue we don't really need him. 

Strange how we've have ended up with 3 target men and 4 defensive minded midfielders in the squad yet we have no left wingers and never signed a replacement for Pearson. Squad could perhaps do with a bit of a shuffle in January?

Although it looks like McGhee will give some of the younger lads a chance to impress in the coming weeks and stake their claim which is reassuring to see. Was really good to hear Ferguson, McMillan, Maclean and Hastie all get on at the weekend and not look out of place.

[Desp]

43 minutes ago, Casagolda said:

Although it looks like McGhee will give some of the younger lads a chance to impress in the coming weeks and stake their claim which is reassuring to see. Was really good to hear Ferguson, McMillan, Maclean and Hastie all get on at the weekend and not look out of place.

Now that's he giving youngsters game time, that's a stick the "Magee h8ers" can no longer beat him with.

I see they've progressed to the "aye, but he said we'll probably get beat at Celtic Park, that's disgraceful" which is exactly what every fan thought pre-match anyway.  As I've said, McGhee will have the exact same view of the media that his pal Strachan has.  What is said to the media will be completely different to what is said to the players in the dressing room.  The fact that has to be explained to a number of people just shows show utterly moronic a section of Motherwell fans are.  

[capt_oats]

Both Belic and Blyth were training last week (going by the photos the club posted up on their socials). Lucas may have been as there were a few bodies obscured but I don't think their omission from the match day squad was injury related. I guess we'll see if they're involved with the 20s tomorrow. I'm inclined to agree re: Belic that he's someone we've taken a punt on and decided to have a look at. A cursory glance at YouTube or even (don't laugh) FM shows him as a right footed forward so it'd be genuinely surprising if he was brought in as a replacement for Johnson. If anything he looks to me like someone who'd fill McDonald's role though it's unlikely McDonald's every going to be dropped so it does beg the question of what's the point, though I was surprised to see him subbed off at HT on Saturday. Either way, assuming we're not contributing too much to his wage then I'm not hugely surprised that we've said "alright then" to the offer of "would you like to take this highly rated Serbian u19 cap from West Ham's academy for 6 months?".

What does seem to be the case is that with injuries (McHugh specifically along with Hammell and Chalmers to an extent) & outgoings (Pearson, Johnson) we're almost through the 1st round of fixtures and still don't have a settled XI or shape. We know McGhee likes the 433 but it's looked an awkward fit with Bowman, Moult and McDonald as the front 3. Given how uncommon a shape it is (and more traditionally South American), it raised an eyebrow to hear McGhee suggest we went 4222 at the weekend. 

I was interested to see how specific McGhee was when commenting on Ferguson and McMillan in his post-game media comments. His suggestion was that they've 10-12lbs to add. We've always known about McGhee's thing for fitness and physical prep but tied to the fact that you've got Craigan referencing GPS and whatever ProZone variant they're using almost every week post-match for the 20s then it seems to be a culture that's filtering through all the squads. It's obviously a good thing especially given how far someone like Cadden has come in the last year. I've said before but based on his form for the 20s I think there's every chance that Jake Hastie will skip ahead of Dom Thomas in the pecking order for the first team. It wouldn't surprise me to see that oft mentioned loan for Thomas happen next window, if not sooner. 

I see Pearson was sent off in Atletico's 1-1 draw yesterday, whilst not wanting to take anything for granted it seemed to be hinted at that he'd be back at Fir Park in January, he said himself in his statement "who knows one day I might be back for another go at it" I may be reading too much into that but it seems like it should have had a winking emoji next to it. I wonder if that's the reason that there hasn't been a like for like replacement brought in and we've had a section of our budget earmarked for him coming back. 

[Casagolda]

Having looked you can see Lucas, Belic and Blyth all training last week, yet none of the three of them could even make the 18 man squad on Saturday. 

As I said, Belic looks like a panic signing when we we were scraping about trying to get bodies  in on deadline day before the window closed. Lucas seems like a short term signing to cover for McHugh/till Pearson returns in January. Doubt either of them will see much action and would be surprised if either is here beyond January. 

On Blyth, I get the impression personally that Bowman was actually McGhee's first choice to fill the target man role in the squad this summer but we couldn't afford him at the time so just went with Blyth instead. Once we sold Johnson and had the funds in place McGhee went back for Bowman having not been particularly impressed with Blyth, who now almost finds himself surplus to requirements. 

On the plus side both Lucas and Belic will be on relatively low wages and can be punted in January. An injury or two and I suppose Blyth might get his chance to impress, although given his form for the 20's I'd personally rather see Mackin get some game time. Looks like an awkward big laddie but he seems to know where the back of the net is.

[mjw]

If you look at the shambles that is Joey Barton signing for Rangers,then signing someone who turns out to be not very good isn't the worst thing in the world.

[Desp]

On 10/17/2016 at 11:32, capt_oats said:

Both Belic and Blyth were training last week (going by the photos the club posted up on their socials). Lucas may have been as there were a few bodies obscured but I don't think their omission from the match day squad was injury related. I guess we'll see if they're involved with the 20s tomorrow. 

Nope, not involved.  With no first team fixture this week either...

Motherwell U20s: Morrison, Watt, Armstrong, Maguire, Ferguson, Campbell, Falconer, Turnbull, Mackin, Hastie, Fry

Motherwell U20s subs: Trialist, Watters, Scott, Livingstone, Semple, Agyeman, MacDonald

[capt_oats]

1 minute ago, Desp said:

Nope, not involved.  With no first team fixture this week either...

Motherwell U20s: Morrison, Watt, Armstrong, Maguire, Ferguson, Campbell, Falconer, Turnbull, Mackin, Hastie, Fry

Motherwell U20s subs: Trialist, Watters, Scott, Livingstone, Semple, Agyeman, MacDonald

A few names I don't recognise there too specifically Agyeman and MacDonald.

For what it's worth going by Craigan's pre-match interview there's talk of a bounce game for the first team tomorrow (3min 56) . Wonder who it's against? Some pointed words for players who bumped contract offers as well.

 

[Desp]

'Well sub: 16-year old Ghanian-born Italian Alfredo Agyeman comes on to replace Dylan Falconer.

 

From the U20s game today.  Great to see, there's not enough Ghanian-born Italians in Scottish football, IMO.  

[Casagolda]

22 hours ago, mjw said:

If you look at the shambles that is Joey Barton signing for Rangers,then signing someone who turns out to be not very good isn't the worst thing in the world.

Of course, however the principle remains the same in both cases. Players getting paid for contributing very little.

We've actually got 7 first team strikers at the minute picking up a wage in Moult, McDonald, Bowman, Blyth, Moore, Belic and Mackin. Of which, only Moult had a contract before this season. So we've dished out contracts this summer to 6 different strikers. 

Not exactly the most effective use of our limited budget is it? Throw in the 5 odd defensive midfielders we currently have on the books and the squad could do with a bit of a re-shuffle in January. Which is the point I was initially trying to make. 

As I've said before I think McGhee done well this summer for the most part and the majority of his signings made sense at the time. Each signing either replaced a departing first teamer from last season or strengthened a position of weakness within the squad. Most of them have looked fairly decent as well so far. However things went a bit Baraclough-esque towards the end and after the sale of Johnson he seems to have panic signed a few bodies just for the sake of it. 

Should point out I actually do have sympathy for McGhee given how late in the day he lost Johnson and given Marv/his agent seemed to leave the club with no option but to let him leave. Just saying I feel the squad is a bit light in certain areas and carrying some deadweight in others. Hopefully something which can addressed in January.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Casagolda

[Desp]

I understand the points you're making Casagolda, even though I think it's a tad harsh to go along the "Baraclough-esque route"

It's funny that we've went about four years talking about the need for a defensive midfielder to replace Jennings, and now we're onto not having a proper attacking midfielder.  There's certainly an element of "panic buy" in both the Belic and Lucas signings.  Belic, is pretty much a punt and I doubt with about an hour or so to decide the manager will have had a chance to have a proper look at him.  Very much a "why not?" shout until January.  It's clearly looking like it's not going to work out, and very doubtful he'll get anywhere near the first team.  

The Lucas one though, strikes me as more bizarre by the day.  If it was purely for cover, I don't get why Campbell or Turnbull could have filled that role. Take a seat on the bench and, at best, have 30 mins here or there.  Particularly with McGhee now giving three youngsters their debut on Saturday, he's not afraid to put them in.  

With hindsight, it's easy signing Bowman in August after signing Blyth in June = Blyth is shite and not good enough.  While that might actually be the case, it was clear to see that Bowman was the no.1 target going into the summer, but it was only possible once Johnson was sold and we had the funds to make it happen, therefore, Blyth was picked up early doors.  I doubt Blyth is on a big wage, so if it hasn't worked out, then he could easily be moved on/loaned out.  I have no issues with going after Bowman, when it possible, if he was the no.1 target rather than settle for Blyth "because we already him".

I've said it before, but I'm sure that Bowman is effectively a replacement for Moult.  The expectation being Moult will go in January.  

Things like the left back area are unfortunate.  We had two competent left backs but both got injured at the same time.  Good to see a youngster being trusted enough to do a job in there to cover.

I agree the squad could easily lose a few, and not be weakened.  If, after Xmas, we get McHugh back fit and playing and resign Pearson, we'll go into the second half of the season with a strong squad.  Do a bit of work and get shot of Belic, Lucas, Blyth, and maybe even Kennedy.  

[capt_oats]

I don't necessarily disagree and definitely get the point being made but I think I'm right in saying that McGhee indicated at the start of pre-season that we'd be looking to run with a first team squad of 20-21, that is roughly speaking where we are just now. In January last season I think we had a first team squad pushing 26 after Baraclough's trolley dash. There was a similar discussion in the "Give Youth A Chance" thread over on Steelmen and having looked back on McCall's full seasons we were generally using between 22 - 25 players over the course of a season. Thus far we've used 23 though that will probably increase given we seem to have a decent pool of 20s to supplement the squad;

GK - Samson, Brill

DF - Tait, Heneghan, McManus, Hammell, Chalmers, Kennedy

MF - Cadden, Lasley, Clay, McHugh, Lucas, Ainsworth, Thomas

FW: McDonald, Belic, Blyth, Bowman, Moult, McFadden

u20s: Mackin, Ferguson, Campbell, MacLean, McMillan, Hastie  

I have a feeling that the unknown element to McHugh's injury along with the unexpected (?) departure of Pearson has probably thrown things as much as Johnson's last minute move, we knew he was going as we were actively trying to move him on. Similarly as prolific as Mackin has been at 20s level he was something like 2 in 13 for Airdrie in League 1 during his loan spell so there's nothing to say that it's a given he'd hit the ground running for the first team should he be needed. It wouldn't surprise me if we saw him get the 2nd half of the season loaned out to a Championship club and see how he does at that level.

[Desp]

Remember when Dom Thomas was the next big thing?  Halcyon days.

It wouldn't surprise me if McGhee decided after his 'performance' against East Stirling in the cup, when he couldn't make an impact against a non-league side and was rightly hooked after an hour, that he was finished at Motherwell.  

It now appears he's been overtaken in the pecking order by McLean, and perhaps even Hastie.  

He needs to get away from Motherwell and play, if he wants to salvage some sort of footballing career.  IMO, I don't think he's got the attitude to do it.  Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see him at part-time level, or even worse, in three years time. 

[capt_oats]

It's notable that Thomas hasn't played for the 20s the past few weeks, nor did he make the bench for the first team on Saturday. The fact he was in the squad to play Hearts suggests that his omission hasn't been injury related.

Completely agree though, he needs to get a sustained period of first team football and see where he is after that. His deal's up in 2018 so he's still got a bit of time to salvage things but he's definitely in danger of being overtaken by Hastie who, just as a general observation, looks a far better fit for a McGhee side. Indeed it's fair to say that on the whole the 20s play McGhee's 433 far better than the first team. Even at 17 Hastie's a bit more solid, more of an athlete and seems to have an end product to his game. You can see him being as comfortable a conventional left mid as left wing, something you couldn't really say about Thomas or possibly even Johnson.

Given he's naturally right sided I'd imagine MacLean will have been earmarked as next in line for Cadden's current role, whether that's after he moves on or whether Cadden moves into the centre of the park.

[ropy]

If Lucas was a panic signing it took 10 weeks to panic.

[well fan for life]

I'd agree with the talk about Thomas. Particularly that game against East Stirling where he was absolutely rank against some part-timer.

He's far too lightweight. If you compare hime and Cadden, the latter has bulked up and looks physically ready to play at this level and higher. Thomas would get outmuscled in a U-15s game.

[capt_oats]

If Lucas was a panic signing it took 10 weeks to panic.

I'm not sure how much stock you can place in it but did both McGhee & Lucas not say that the club had asked him to be patient and they'd sort a deal out. As you rightly point out he'd been at the club for the best part of 2 months.

[itzdrk]

Is Craig Moore still alive?

[capt_oats]

Is Craig Moore still alive?

McGhee mentioned him the other week when talking about McHugh remarking on both of them suffering from delayed concussion.

Other than that there's not been a lot of chat about him.

[itzdrk]

11 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

 

McGhee mentioned him the other week when talking about McHugh remarking on both of them suffering from delayed concussion.

Other than that there's not been a lot of chat about him.

 

I will wait patiently then.