capt_oats

I'll just leave this here: http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2016/03/02/club-launch-the-hutchison-award/

I don't disagree, perhaps I was overstating a bit by saying a 'massive improvement'. I wasn't necessity meaning an improvement in league position more in terms of performance. Given some of the cheap goals we've lost this season that have cost us points there's room for us to be better in that respect. In turn even a marginal improvement could/would have a fairly significant impact on our season.

I think where it's quite interesting is where the improvement has been. For example, when Baraclough was emptied we had 2 wins and a draw from 8 games so 7 points from 24 that was exactly the same as McCall's opening 8 games last season. A limited sample granted but it works out at 0.87 ppg or 29% of the points available (just for the sake of comparison by the time McCall eventually walked it was 7 points from 36, 0.58 ppg, 19% of available points) Since McGhee's come in, for better or worse in terms of performances and regardless of the extent to which he may or may not have rubbed some fans the wrong way, he's taken 22 points from 18 games (1.22 ppg or 40% of points available) so with that information alone and especially considering he's had exactly the same squad of players to work with as Baraclough had (the 6 month loan of Gomis being the only addition to the squad he inherited) there's been an improvement not only from where we were last season but from where we were when Baraclough left. There's still clearly massive room for improvement and results could obviously have been significantly better had it not been for lapses in concentration from players or unnecessarily messing around with shape but as a bare comparison between where we were and where we are now it's definitely small steps forward.

Going to chuck this in here, make of it what you will: As of just now with 28 games played we're 10 points better off than at the same point last season having scored 11 goals more and conceded 10 goals less. At this point in the season we're only 5 goals short of our TOTAL goals scored in the league last season not that being better than last season is in any way something to crow about but still... The one piece of info that did surprise me was at the moment, with 28 games played we've only conceded 1 more goal than we had after 28 games in McCall's 2013/14 season when we finished 2nd (though we're 13 goals short in the 'for' column at the same point and that's the rub I suppose). It's a bit 'if your auntie had baws...' but if you were to take out the Hearts debacle our defensive record would actually be better now than that season. Which is quite mental when you consider the nick of our defence and some of the goals we've shipped.

Interesting to read a quote from McDonald from the weekend; "We have a tough run but those are the games when we produce good performances and get wins. Those games arent the ones we fear." That's actually been borne out over the season as we've often just plainly not turned up against teams on poor runs this season. County were 1 win in 6 when they pitched up at Fir Park earlier in the season, Accies were on a poor run at New Year when we dropped points and completely stopped playing after we went 1 up early on, so too St Johnstone the other week, that was their first win in 9 IIRC. Contrast that with say the "must win" United game who were off the back of a few decent results (incidentally with their win at County at the weekend we're the only team to have beaten them in their last 6). Even overlooking our historically poor record at NDP if we're to get anything out of this game (and it won't surprise me if we don't) there'll need to be a bit of a sea change in attitude from the players. Hopefully the fact Accies picked up a point against Celtic on Friday night is enough to focus our squad and make sure Saturday isn't another 1 step forward, 2 back. Either way I won't be in the least surprised if there's a red card and Accies continue to embarrass themselves by cheating their way through 90mins of an almost unwatchable shitfest.

They've only won twice in the last 20 games home or away. wins vs Killie on Jan 30th and United on 28th November. 8 draws and 10 losses. They do seem to be very adept at shitfesting their way to draws recently though notably Celtic and Hearts. Also, I count 11 red cards in matches involving them this season.

It would only have been a re-take had we missed. Whether or not the ref would have called it is a different matter of course. However there's no issue with the application of the rule or outcome in this instance.

re: subs, it's been quite a consistent issue with us this season where we've made changes and it's had a negative impact on the team, their shape and the result. especially when the game has been in the balance (Accies, Thistle at Firhill etc) even going back to the United game under Baraclough where we were 0-0 on 80' until he stuck Clarkson on in the centre of the park and we fell to bits. The last time we played Thistle when we subbed Ainsworth on he got caught out (though wasn't the only one at fault etc) at 0-0 and ended up crying at a press conference. So yesterday we were 3-1 up, McGhee chose not to make any subs and risk disrupting things (not to mention adding on time). We won 3-1. Folk really need to sit down and wind their necks in.

No Gomis. Subs: Samson, Ainsworth, Fletcher, Law, Leitch, Thomas, McFadden

I'd agree with that or possibly even a 343 with Johnson wide left of a forward 3.

Absolutely. It'd be daft to treat the info I posted above as being some sort of absolute. The fact that the free kick that led to the opening goal against Dundee at Fir Park was a result of Johnson being halved over on the east stand touchline supports your point. If we had Opta stats I'd be interested to know where Johnson ranked in terms of 'most fouled'. As I said a couple of posts above it's pretty reductive and I'm not claiming that it's anything other than that. However it is quite interesting to see where our goals have been coming from. With regards the 3412 I think it's a question of how much McGhee wants to get McFadden involved. To me, from the outside looking in he's been using that system to allow Johnson, McFadden and 2 strikers to be on the park at the same time. Since the attempts to get 5 in midfield with one striker have been eye bleedingly awful. To go to a back 4 would mean one of Johnson or McFadden dropping out. You could, for example, go with a 4312 or 442 diamond however it'd be a bit narrow and Pearson, Lasley & Gomis in the centre of the park would be ageing though combative, in fact it'd be 7 30+ players in the XI. Ripley Law Hall McManus Hammell Gomis (or Cadden) Lasley Pearson McFadden Moult McDonald

Obviously what I've posted above is really just bare numbers, you can take whatever you want from that to fit a specific narrative. It's also quite reductive in the sense that it only addresses a final pass and finish rather than a full passage of play. Johnson does have hugely positive attributes (pace mostly) however I'm inclined to agree that the return we've seen really doesn't warrant his apparent status as one of the first names on the team sheet. For what it's worth the reason I wanted to look into it wasn't to necessarily knock or have a dig at Johnson but rather the suspicion that Johnson isn't actually that "creative" a player, as I said in the St Johnstone thread he's not going to be the guy to pick a pass or split a defence and that's kind of borne out by the above. He absolutely has it in him to roast a full back but equally based on assists and goals (which tbf is what he should be judged on) we don't actually see much by way of end product that creates goals from him. Which is actually quite ironic given it's seemingly Dom Thomas' lack of a final ball that's been presented as the reason that he isn't getting games in the first team.

Ainsworth as above in my reply to Desp Leitch: Assist - East Fife 80' (scorer Louis Moult) Assist - Greenock Morton 116' (scorer Louis Moult) McFadden: Assist - Dundee United 45'+1 (scorer Stephen McManus) Assist - St Johnstone 33' (scorer Louis Moult)

According to wiki: Ainsworth - 25 total (League: 13+9, LC: 1+1, SC: 0+1) Johnson - 31 total (League: 23+4, LC: 2, SC: 2) For what it's worth here's the breakdown: Ainsworth: Assist - St Johnstone 11' (scorer Louis Moult) Goal - East Fife 107' Assist - Greenock Morton 90'+1 (scorer Scott McDonald) Assist - Partick Thistle 22' (scorer Frans o.g) Assist - Partick Thistle 69' (scorer Scott McDonald) Assist - Aberdeen 73' (scorer Scott McDonald) Assist - ICT 58' (scorer Louis Moult) Assist - Cove Rangers 61' (scorer Stephen Pearson) Johnson: Goal - Aberdeen 5' Assist - Ross County 90'+1 (scorer Louis Moult) Goal - Hearts 65' Assist - Celtic 53' (scorer Louis Moult) Goal - Cove Rangers 54' Assist - Dundee 4' (scorer Chris Cadden)

You can also chuck in an additional point that some of those were against East Fife and Cove Rangers as well but still... In the case of McFadden he's started 2 games and contributed to 2 goals

I thought I'd post this in here seeing as it's the a bit more current. Following on from a general point Busta made re: Johnston and his role as a creative player in the team over in the St Johnstone match thread in a fit of boredom (and morbid curiosity) I had a look at how our goals have actually been "created". I don't keep a running spreadsheet of this sort of thing but on the off chance it's of interest to anyone here's the info for league and cup games: Goals Scored: Louis Moult 14 Scott McDonald 11 Stephen Pearson 7 Marvin Johnson 3 Wes Fletcher 1 Ben Hall 1 Chris Cadden 1 Stephen McManus 1 Lionel Ainsworth 1 Own goal 1 Total: 41 Assists: (caveat, I've taken initial saved shots as assists ie: Pearson's shot vs ICT led to Fletcher's goal, McDonald's shot vs Aberdeen led to Johnson's goal etc) Scott McDonald 7 Lionel Ainsworth 7 Josh Law 5 Louis Moult 4 Stephen Pearson 4 Marvin Johnson 3 Steven Hammell 3 James McFadden 2 Jack Leitch 2 Liam Grimshaw 1 David Clarkson 1 Connor Ripley 1 Total: 40* (Pearson's goal vs Dundee he was played in by an attempted defensive clearance, hence the discrepancy) Area of assist: Right wing/side: 8 Corner (right): 3 Free kick (right): 2 Total (right): 13 Left wing/side: 8 Corner (left): 3 Free kick (left): 0 Total (left): 11 Centre/through ball: 10 Shot saved/rebound: 5 Foul (Penalty): 2 Direct Free Kick: 0

I think that's a more than fair point, though without wanting to make it sound like a dig at the player (more a general observation), I'd suggest that Johnson isn't actually *that* "creative" a player. He can certainly be an effective attacking player in the right circumstances ie: if the game is stretched and he's got 20 yards behind a full back to run into but in terms being a creative player in a more traditional sense, more often than not he doesn't actually offer that much. He's certainly not going to be the guy to pick out a pass or split a defence. I don't know off the top of my head but I'd be interested to know how many assists he has this season. Maybe that goes some way to accounting for the desire to get McFadden more involved in the starting XI I don't know though again that throws up its own set of problems. By extension, some of the more statto-minded folk on here might be able to answer but as daft as this may sound I'd be curious to know how many of the goals we've scored this season have actually been 'created' by say a through ball or incisive pass through the centre of the park; McDonald's through ball to Pearson for the 2nd against St Johnstone, or Pearson's pass to McDonald vs Dundee at Fir Park in December by way of an example vs how many have come from a cross or set pieces. I'm pretty sure that McDonald's 2nd against United last week was the first goal we've scored this season from outside the box. Don't get me wrong, a goal's a goal, they all count and if we go on to win the rest of our fixtures with goals from crosses then I'm more than fine with that, it's not a negative as such but I do think it's interesting that at the moment Johnson seems to have a mantle of being our main attacking threat yet on the face of it he doesn't actually seem to be creating that much and in a sense we do seem to be pretty one dimensional in terms of our approach to attacking.

I'd be surprised if he did it but if McGhee wants to revert to a back 4 but still start McFadden then Johnson dropping out and going 4312/442 diamond would be most obvious option. I think we need Moult in the team for exactly the reason mentioned above Faddy is by all accounts a #10 and McDonald drops in and won't really get in behind a defence. Ripley Law Hall McManus Hammell Cadden Lasley Gomis McFadden Moult McDonald Again though that'd be a pretty unfamiliar shape for us and there's no real width which could be a problem against Swanson and the young boy Thompson (if Wright decides to play him). Though a 4312 would put bodies around Davidson in the centre of the park. Tbh I really wouldn't be surprised if we just went back to roughly the same 442 that beat them at Fir Park in December. Either way, massive game. Hopefully we turn up again.

Absolutely. While there's no harm in looking out of contract players unless they're significantly better than what we have then we shouldn't be bringing folk in for the sake of it. Having said that, it's worth pointing out that McDonald didn't sign until February 26th last year.

I'd say in the case of Pearson he just looks knackered. He had a fairly lengthy injury at the start of the season and if I recall correctly was rushed back into the Thistle game after Baraclogh was emptied. Since then he's started almost every game and in doing so been asked to play box to box. It's no real surprise that with pitches as heavy as they are at this time of year that he might be fading a bit. re: Gomis, whilst I think it's unfair to say he's been dire he definitely gives me the fear a bit largely on account of his apparent penchant for holding on to the ball in dangerous areas and getting caught in possession. To be honest there are a couple of mitigating factors there; a) he's not long at the club so may well be taking a second or two too long on the ball as he's not familiar with the players around him, b) in the games against ICT, Killie and United we've changed up our system so the players (midfield in particular) have been asked to play in different shapes. Neither of those points cover the fact that at the moment, in the form we've been in, I'd rather one of our holding midfielders wasn't trying to roulette his way past players 35 yards from our own goal not least because when he does get caught out neither Lasley or Pearson have the legs to cover him. It's all very well him (clearly) being comfortable on the ball but for me rather than adding composure to the midfield, in the games I've seen him he's often invited pressure. Having said that I'd think that with more games in a settled team we'd see him improve and we'd be a bit more fluid in that area of the park.

This ^^^^ So far in the league I think we've played 5 games where he hasn't started, we've lost 4 of them (the win was away to Killie). While it's fair enough to point out we've lost plenty when he *has* started it should be clear that we're worse off without him just now. Edit to add: with McDonald's brace against United that's the two first choice strikers both in double figures for the season. Pearson's 3rd top scorer with 7.

The full statement is here: http://dufc.co/news/statement-from-the-chairman/

They were 442 when they lost to Dundee at Dens on Friday night. Mannus Fisher Anderson Shaughnessy Scobbie Swanson Lappin Davidson Wotherspoon Cummins MacLean

Brilliant news!

Tremendous result. Going by comments from McGhee and others it sounds like it was a fairly brutal game of football but can't argue with a clean sheet and 3-0. Not having been at the game it's difficult to know how effective we were in a broader sense in that shape whether it's something that worked purely as a one off or whether we could run with it for a few games. On the face of it with a bit of work the 3412 could answer a few of our problems; - allows the possibility of 5 in the middle of the park without sacrificing a striker - gets McFadden on the park and means we're not solely relying on Johnson for creativity - allows 2 centre halves to focus on marking/stopping in the knowledge there's a covering CB there to sweep. - Cadden & Johnson are still there to provide width The main concern I suppose would be whether or not Johnson could get exposed in that role against a better team than United but equally looking at a bench with Pearson, Hammell, Law, Ainsworth and Thomas it'd be fair to say there would be scope to switch things if need be. Anyway, a cracking result. Credit to McGhee & the players. Was pretty satisfying to hear that the change in shape & personnel worked. Edit to add: the obvious caveat is that it'd depend on what sort of shape the opposition are playing 3412 would be fine going like for like or against a 442 but it's be totally pointless against a 4231 where you'd end up having 3 centre halves marking 1 striker and no full backs.