Goggles & Flippers

What could have been a comfortable victory ended with a mop of the brow against a team below par with Motherwell improving but nowhere near what we are capable of ... however improving. Knife sharpeners, put away you whetstones. ICT's result at the sty today shows how capable they are and adds a degree of context to last weeks performance. Carswell was excellent until ten minutes before he went off and deserves a start from now on, he's earned it over the past 12 months. Good to see Sutton getting a bit of service and his goal, beats getting none and some of the more fruity members of our support shouting for his P45. The players seemed genuinely pleased for ZFA with his assist however his subbing was correct. Arnier's work ethic is commendable and I understand why McCall would think Sutton would make a better sole target man when sacrificing a striker. Faddy offered more centrally than on a wing and showed glimmers, when he does find that purple patch it will be glorious to watch. For all our missed opportunities, Thistle were in the same boat with a few near misses that if we didn't get the rub of the green we'd be on here calling for major changes. I'm scratching my head as to why our defence is dragged to one side and then another like a rape victim's knickers. The amount of times the central pairing were pointing to overlapping players without cover and shouting commands shows why form teams will damage us unless we address the organisation between the midfield and defence under breaks. As for the "pacey winger" debate raging on In's and Out's, it makes my eyes bleed. In the 4 years we had Humphrey, he was out of favour for a fair bit, injured for a while, tended to last 60 minutes when started and 30 minutes when subbed on. The argument was that opposition teams covered him with two players because of his threat was maybe true at the beginning but not when he had more exposure over time and his final ball was a lottery. Before him we had Jim O'Brien and the other "pacey winger" options we had recently included McGlinchy, that geriatric Northern Irishman and Omar (feel free to add to the list). What we have on paper at the moment is an experienced and, Hammell apart, large in stature, defence. Ball winners in Carswell and Lasley, bit of flare and passing from Vigurs and a capable mop up man in Lawson. A creative game changing spark in McFadden and a capable back to goal ball winner in Sutton with a grafting foil in Arnier. ZFA for me should be a fringe player, he's been bloodied too early through necessity and I think he has questioned his own confidence in his own ability on occasion, (however don't let me take anything away from his 1st half performance today). Let's play to our strengths going forward, which from what we have is zippy, neat and precise back to front passing (dare I say it, like what Barcelona do) because everyone listed above is capable if basic errors are eradicated. It doesn't get the East stand on its feet quite the same way as a one on one break does but it may reap more rewards from the current pool of players.

I was going to post in the Partick Thistle thread after reading it but I thought this more appropriate. I appreciate this is about him moving and I'm commenting on other aspects, but it was motivated by some of the doom and gloom so far exhibited ..... its all sugar or all shite with us Well fans. In Gannon's first few games and McGhee's too, we came out the blocks on fire, I think mostly due to fitness level's, I remember I found Jim Paterson was unrecognisable, there was some imposter who was a thin and assured footballer wearing his shirt. McCall seems to have this thing were initially we're a little off the boil but come through in the long-run both in games and over the course of a season. Think how many matches last season followed that old adage "a game of two halves" and how we didn't start performing till November. I think he's a gentleman, I think he's encouraged a good few players to extend their stay or come to us, however to counter, I think he's overly cagey by which I feel he takes too long before making changes in personnel with formations more concerned with damage limitation than inflicting damage. Finally I think he's not the scary disciplinarian and continues an element of that Ibrox culture of the late 90's we've all read about where giving the boys scope to cut loose/relax every so often was fostered. That may be a factor to what keeps the moral among the squad up, I don't know. What I do know despite some of the things I've outlined above I still fully support him and wouldn't want a change.

Merit in what Tweed has said. Aberdeen are functioning well for the first time in a while, Terry's built on what he had and St. Johnstone are doing the same. The in's and out's was very optimistic as to what we could expect as the club announced the new signings despite the decimation of last years starting line up. The retention of a manager who has won the majority over and highly regarded for his achievements with us, the adding of internationalists McManus and McFadden to join Hammell, Vigurs and Lawson who were instrumental in helping County reach top 6 status last year to replace Law plus Carswell and ZFA stepping up and showing encouraging improvement all boded well. For me, there's been too many basic errors and undue pressure as a result of those errors and a midfield that just isn't functioning. It's been a common comment all through pre-season till ICT mostly from McCall himself in the MFCTV interviews. There's been a host of undue criticism of McFadden and Hollis in particular. He doesn't have the same physical presence and possibly doesn't inspire the guys ahead of him with as much confidence as Randolph or Ruddy did, maybe that has a bearing, however I can't think of any of the goals scored against us so far that he's really been culpable. OK, a few jittery moments with passbacks and decision making, but he's played 5 first team games in 4 years, give the guy a break. As for the talisman not performing, in the game he played in last year he entered a team that had been moulded over time that was comfortable with players such as Law, who was on the same anticipation wavelength and Ojamaa who could would run and run to get to his flicks and through balls. Sutton isn't getting any service, he's a back to goal striker who knows how to milk refs for fouls. I'd love it for once if we found someone who could make the keeper work for 2 out of 3 free kicks we have in these dangerous places. For me, I see an extra special bollocking this week in training, resolve from a group of players who know they are under performing and a few ex players looking to make a point for letting them go resulting in a 2-1 win for us. Bear in mind England still can't get Gerrard and Lampard to compliment each other.

Countless games last season were of two halves, a few outstanding comebacks. We're a group we are known by the collective noun of a support not a pessimism. Lets all calm down You may not be the biggest fan of a player or tactic however may as well get behind them as unless injury steps in they are here till January at the earliest. From the radio commentary it sounds like a lot more of what I picked up on last week, basics not being done, putting us under undue pressure. Just not clicking. But we are playing the in form team on their own turf, last season's exploits don't guarantee us 3 points in situations such as these, however it would be nicer to hear we were competing more.

Ha, and in addition to Omar last season, it was Steve Jones and Michael McGlinchy the season before and Casagolda in McCall's first half season (however that car crash was down to Jack and Victor). Dry yer eyes! For me McHugh has been cursed by the same as Forbes and Lawless, could prove to be decent if he was given a decent run of games to get the confidence up, never been overly poor in games, but never really shone, but can you with 15 minutes exposure? Doesn't get a nod as others are brought in ahead. However I don't hang around watching them train daily. Only criticism I have of McCall is he takes too long before making changes in personnel in a formation more concerned with damage limitation than inflicting damage. (think of our OF record).

Arnier for me, Hollis 2nd. To be fair, whole team was culpable of basic errors that meant the receiving player has to take time out to control the ball then take a touch. Took us from an offensive position to the back foot such as: weak/overweight passes passing to weaker foot awful shy's putting receiving player under undue pressure All minor but all added to the malaise.

1-0 up and not even 1 minute on the bulb refitted scoreboard, I guess I wasn't the only one thinking this could be a rout. Last week I thought, 1-0 away to Hibs .... decent. After seeing how awful they were against the Jambo's today then that win doesn't seem so significant. Defence on paper is as strong and experienced as we've had in a while, however we were caught out repeatedly today with overlaps and players not covering the right guy instinctively. Hollis - Guy few seats down from me gave him pelters as soon as he came near the ball, prime example was his lack of speed distributing the ball to the right wing on 70 mins, so what .... wasn't as if we were going to do anything with it.. Echo's of Higgy 2 years ago. Felt he couldn't do anything with the three goals. Doesn't have anywhere near the same physical stature of our last two keepers and doesn't command the 6 yard box, couple of dodgy decision making errors, hopefully that's a confidence thing as it is his what? his 4th competitive game in 3 years. Really good reactionary save and ball smothering in 2nd half. Hammell - Not the best couple of weeks for him. McManus - I said to my mate that he'd cost 4 penalties and 2 OG's at least this season, I feel Crags record could go by Christmas. Awful game for him. Midfield as a whole - Almost every game during preseason it was determined that this needed tweaking as it wasn't functioning, today I didn't see anything to convince me of the slightest improvement. ZFA - I appreciate he's young, stepping up to the next level and primarily a left back being asked to play the role of winger/midfielder. I really hope its a confidence thing as in the second half vs Krasnodar he started to have impact rather than pass it back to Hammell. Final ball needs a lot of work in training as I found it very Humphreyesque. Vigurs - Couple of postage stamp diagonal passes that will come to fruition over the season I'm sure. Needs to work on the relationship between the holding midfielders and forward line. Arnier - Impressed with his work rate but there is only so much you can do if you aren't even getting a sniff of the ball. McFadden - Not clicking at present, see frustration every time he tries something and a player at a higher level would have anticipated his touch or flick. As a support, we see him as a talisman and we need things to start working soon. Needs to come in from the wing. Sutton - He does win a lot of free kicks as he knows what ref's are looking for better than Higgy. Passenger today but that was due to lack of anything decent from midfield to front. McCall - It wasn't working at 60 minutes, a major shake up was needed, slow to react. Midfield shape/tactics needs addressed as a priority.

Haw Wideo, someone's off to case his gaff

You saying we're part of the establishment now?

Cheers, just watched it there. McManus was hardly in it, and McFadden squared a decent ball for McHugh, don't know what you lot are all talking about! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Al is suggesting that McFadden's reputation earned through his ability means opposition tactics will be to tighten/double up on him opposed to anyone else due to his perceived ability to change games. Consequently this gives the rest of our players more freedom and the chance of losing their markers/covering players. Not everything in football is as binary as shite/good.

Are the BBC uploading highlights on a Sunday night this season or have things changed on that front again? I can't keep up.

and mine too

Keepers, haven't seen enough of either to comment. Defence Is picking itself with Hammell, McManus, Hutchison and Ramsden/Kerr. McCall has cited issues with being outplayed in midfield in most of our pre-season games (well from the snippets I've seen on the official site). For that reason I see a midfield of Vigurs, Carswell, Lasley & Lawson with McFadden dropping back to help. Sutton up front as a target man. If we're chasing it, then whoever's being least effective in midfield would be subbed. However could see Ramsden/Kerr sacrificed to a back three as the two centre halves are imposing and you've got speed from Hammell for a degree of cover. Alternative is ZFA on with McFadden pushed to a more forward position in support. I can't see Henri feature unless he's being doing something in training to impress.

£2.3million according to here for POD. Motherwell Transfer Fee Database Looking through it over the years there are some shockers.

As far as I understand it, you go to a meeting and voice your suggestions/concerns/opinions. If not possible you write to Alison or a board member or a fellow society member and ask them to act as a proxy and communicate it on your behalf. Alternative is you come on a forum and poke holes/cry conspiracies. Totally agree with Tweed on this one, a defining missing element was a decent number of £25,000 business' signing up, which looks like its being addressed with a new approach. Combine that with the club's reliance on the 3,000-4,000 core support, yet again milking the easy targets. We have a further 3-5k regular but lapsed attenders from past 10-15 years plus a further 5k occasional "fair weather" fans and 10k of people who would identify with the club but would only attend cup finals etc. Add to that the the disinterested/disenfranchised/newly arrived in the area and those who wouldn't consider the club unless they are engaged directly in the local area (Bellshill/Motherwell/Wishaw and outlying towns) minus the hardened old firm fans = 50k more. These people are harder to get involved but importantly, its a new revenue stream not a well tested and tired one.

We applaud the club for its openness, certainly heads and shoulders above any other I can think of in the SPL. However when we sell a player there is no mention of a sell on clause or further kickbacks doesn't mean they aren't in place, surely the club is allowed to keep a few bit and pieces close to its chest. We all were pretty unanimous that The Rangers FC (est. 2012) should be demoted, the club said "OK, however there's going to be a shortfall, you're going to have to help us make it up". Ideally I reckon they would have prefered it would be through increased gates (500 from the Board statement I recall). We didn't manage to get those floating supporters and the lapsed to commit despite the success on the park, consequently we run at a loss. We now have a management in place who can countenance a loss if in any way its going to affect the club's sustainability, that means unfortunately players see out their contracts and move on for free as any canny agent will tell them, "if you have no transfer fee, then we can get you a higher wage". Its odd how one extra round in the Scottish Cup and Ross County/ICT being replaced by Hearts/Hibs in the top six would have made a big difference to our balance sheet. Personally I reckon within the next 5 years, 6-10 clubs in Scotland's top 4 leagues will go bust and wind up due to unsustainability, I don't think for a minute Motherwell is one of them.

Always makes me smile when I read "some people" when it should read "I". Do you not think that as a former assistant manager and the relatively small sector he works in of 100-120 jobs in the UK (half being off limits as they've got long term appointees or poison chalices) it would make sense to burn his bridges and snub a club going about seeking his services in the correct manner? By which I mean they approach the club formally and request it opposed to sneeky shit. Don't you think the way he conducts himself both in post match interviews and any general dealings show his character is incomparable with that of McGhee and the two coffin dodgers? Of course there is no pleasing some people. I for one am happy to retain his services and if he does move on I wish him all the best as he's a gentleman who has created an atmosphere which make our little club that little bit more attractive for a player. There were cries of impending doom when he was appointed by many, when Jennings waved goodbye, etc. and here we are, a club with 3,000 core support enjoying success that most others in the league outwith Celtic would snap our fingers off for. If he does end up at Rangers like Law eventually I'll look back at what he did while in claret and amber and be thankful we had them during this period opposed to being labelling them a Judas for moving on for more money and greater opportunity (Granted Law may have to wait a couple of years for that), because few people on this forum would do anything different in their own career progression.

Isn't it just no matter how good you are there is a healthy disregard south of the border for the level of our game and quality of the players in it? The Sheffield United forum digging into us and the standard of the achievements that McCall has attained, Ruddy getting interviewed by some smug prick in a regional English football show after his move to Norwich, etc. are prime examples of this. Isn't it just we see a player, think they could do a job at the Brighton's and Nottingham Forest's of this world, unfortunately they aren't seen the same way down south and carry less of a premium? Case in point being Murphy, there were people on these boards suggesting that he was easily a +£1m player. Law's moved, we'll replace him like we did with Coke, Jennings and a host of all other players that too many predicted impending doom after their loss. I can only imagine playing in front of 45k baying bigots and picking up a healthy bit of cash compared to what he was on here were the draws for him. He's probably been sold into the "help us rebuild into a force again in European football" pish. It's not fair to say anything about what was a good servant to our club when we don't know what other offers were on the table for him. On paper it appears a lack of ambition, however if the only other hat in the ring was Cheltenham Town on £500 more than we were paying him then it makes sense.

If I was him I'd be sitting thinking the following ..... Season 1 - Came in halfway through, got a Scottish Cup Final and top 6 Season 2 - Best of the rest, despite losing some valuable squad members, brought in a couple of decent lads with Law sticking out (had worked with him before and knew he had something) and Higgy especially in the second year of his deal. Season 3 - Best of the rest, lost a couple of key players and due to their performances and a few may also be headed elsewhere. Got the Scotland backroom job and respect from my peers in award nominations and in the press. Season 4 - Looking to do pretty much a partial rebuild as performances over the past year in particular have ensured that a number of players can move on to make an extra cash despite enhanced offers. The club needs to sell one young asset per year to progress and remain financially viable as income from 4,500 core fans, prize money and telly only goes so far. This could involve Ojamaa or Hutch as these are our best hopes. Been out the loop in the English lower leagues for 2.5 years now, knowledge is more in Scottish game. Team at present needs 6-8 resignings/new faces/youth team promotions and stands as: ----------------- Hollis ------------------ ? - Hutch - Ramsden - Hammell ? -- Lasley -- Carswell -- Lawson ---------- Ojamma ---- ? ------------- Bench GK? Cummins ZFA McHugh ? ? ? Ambition - I'd ask myself, how will the rest of the division do next year? Will our competitors lose a number of their key players too? If so, then what are our chances of attaining top 6 again? Will that raise my stock both here and down south further? Will staying in Scotland cement my standing or do I see myself settling in an environment that everyone seems to say is a pleasure to be involved in? Do I harbour ambitions of managing at the very top level, would staying put for another few years help with that or not? Is the grass really greener at Sheffield Utd? I wasn't given a baptism of fire at Motherwell, there was a strong core of players, covering a wide age range with a high morale level. Will I enter a similar situation of have to take two steps back (resulting in criticism from the impatient) to go one forward? I'd probably have a rebuild here too granted with greater resources. Do I want to put my family through another move and upheaval to potentially be cut adrift in 6-12 months time if it doesn't go to plan? If so, would my stock recover (McGhee?), if so, how long will it take and will I get back into a working environment like Motherwell? Will I have burned my bridges?

It's just typical of supporting this team that those in form hit the headlines due to their form as their contracts run out, it woulda been nice if Higgy lit the heather alight the season before last when in mid contract. Only one that surprised me was Randolph not going in the last 2 windows (he made SPL team of the year last year too) and I can't imagine he wasn't on a few radars. Looking back over 20 years the last players we cashed in on in any way were Tom Boyd (1.06m) POD (2.33m), Steve McMillan (704k), Lee McCulloch (880k), Pearo (462k), Faddy (1.45m), Jim Patterson (528k), Skippy (836k) Chris Porter (528k) and Clarky (836k). Of course these are the headline figures that are published not every transfer will be or take into account add ons such as future transfers or appearance money. Think of all the other quality players who left on a free or for buttons. Football finances have changed in that period, as has the general standard south of the border as money has trickled down. The most highly rated Well player back in the day would be expected to sign for a Premiership or Championship club at least. But we also had a national team that went to World Cup's and had 8,500 to 9,000 at FP every fortnight.