dennyc

If we can consistently increase the quality on the bench and challenging for the bench that will strengthen our squad depth. So over all we end up with a stronger squad of, say, 25. It will also challenge the players who are first choice. Even allowing for injuries, Sunday demonstrated that there is room for improvement. Using your numbers ranking, if a player proves incapable of increasing from 22 then surely we identify a replacement that is capable in time of that rise. And if a player is content to remain at number 22 is that really the mindset we should accept? I don't expect every one of the 25 to immediately be the same quality of those starting. But that should be their objective. We need to see progress. Those players at the 'lower level' must improve over time to keep their place in the production line. If we can fill that production line from within then all the better. In the same way that turnover is seen in the starting eleven, it should be seen in those who are waiting in the wings. It is tough on those that fall by the wayside. I get that. But better they play at a level which matches their ability and/or ambition than finding themselves out of their depth and suffering mentally as well as physically.

The point is that the KMI panel highlights outcomes, even if they have no official capacity. In that way the spotlight remains on repeated errors (or otherwise) that referees and var make. In England that transparency is seen as a good thing, a positive in fact. In Scotland the SFA see transparency as an embarrassment, a dissention. So they shut it down. It's what Dictators do. (As I believe many who live in the USA are now experiencing first hand). I agree it would be better if such panels could take direct action and include Officials. But at the very least they maintain the spotlight and address the issues that we all see.

And so it continues. A few days after the SFA scrap the KMI panel because it was embarrassing our wonderful referees, the FA in England announce they will publish full details of their own KMI panel decisions.......in an effort to be more transparent and give fans a better perspective of how decisions were arrived at. The corruption up here is beyond belief. It's about time our clubs united, said enough is enough, and tore the system down. Sadly unlikely given who pulls the strings up here..

The perspective is that one or two are clearly not good enough for the top division despite having been given the recognised route and support to build their career. Not based solely on Sunday but also based on the past two seasons. They have not developed as we all had hoped. Sadly that happens all too often within every club. But for a number of reasons they are what we have at the moment and that's not their fault. More generally, at what age and after how many games does a player stop being regarded as a youngster? When should we reasonably expect to see progress? I think it was you who highlighted that Wilson has played over 100 senior games. Many of those games surrounded by senior players within an established line up. Add some Under 21 International appearances in 2024. Numerous coaches They are all doing their best and that effort is appreciated. For their own good I believe it would be better if they moved elsewhere.....loan meantime or straight transfer. It was painful seeing how much they struggled on Sunday. To be clear, I am not blaming any of those youngsters for the loss on Sunday. I don't think any senior Motherwell player came off that park thinking they had done themselves justice. I am just saying there comes a time to identify when a player is not up to the standard we require. That does not mean a player....youngster or otherwise.... does not have a future elsewhere

The issue is not with rotation but with the quality of player AJ has in reserve. That's not his fault and he is not going to hide behind that excuse. It takes a lot longer than a few weeks to build the quality of squad depth we require if we are to continue to mix it with the big boys. A run of injuries is another hurdle to overcome. And less easy to predict. On Sunday we were dependent upon Wilson and Ross who did not progress when loaned to lower league clubs and struggled to secure a starting position at Raith or Annan respectively. And they have shown next to nothing since returning to Fir Park. Harsh for some, but realistic. For some reason, misguided loyalty or financial reasons perhaps, their contracts were extended. That error came home to roost yesterday. They were out of their depth......against Stenhousemuir. It affected the whole team. Sadly, the whole experience may well have damaged them. Booth and Mcallister are at a different stage of their careers and may develop given the patience and Loan experience afforded to the two mentioned above. Time enough for them yet. Connolly did just fine and is a decent back up. Although at an early stage, Whyte has clearly benefited and matured from his time at Stenhousemuir. His appearances this season reflect that progress. Whether he turns out to be the next Turnbull or Miller time will tell but early signs are promising. Contrasting his progress with that of Wilson and Ross is very telling. Same path. Different outcome. Different quality. I really don't know what to make of Vogt. Given the other excellent signings our recruitment team have uncovered I cannot believe how little he has contributed so far. Flashes at best. At times he looks lost. At other times terrified. Hopefully we see soon the abilities that encouraged us to sign him. Gutted at losing to Stenhousemuir but not that surprised. The match played out as I feared believing that considerable rotation would be a huge factor. Not sure what other options AJ had. I really don't think he chose one cup over the other but rather decided to protect as many players as he could. Had he given up on the League Cup as many suggest, why then risk the players he did second half? When we qualify for Europe next season we will be in a much stronger position to compete on all fronts. With greater depth and hopefully less injuries. It is actually amazing how well we have started this season.

Hope you have more luck than I did. No response whatsoever.

The sad thing is that the Board are now well aware of the issues but have remained silent. Looks like they are adopting the old ostrich trick of burying their heads in the sand hoping the problem will disappear. That applies to both Boards. So much for being fan orientated. When someone eventually gets injured they might show an interest. Or maybe not.

Nah, Bob Malcolm

There was also a through pass that split the centre backs and just eluded two players bursting in behind. Given time those attackers will know what he is capable of and react a split second earlier and so make the most of his vision.

Hilarious last night at end of game. Guy in front of me on stairs was carrying his seat and handed it into the Director's box on way out. From what I saw it was held in place by one giant screw which had come loose. Maybe we should all try that. Never got a chance to ask him what the reaction was.

And this shows me you haven't got a clue what I'm saying. I thought I was very clear but my bad if not. Where did I say we should have a squad of 13? Where did I say anyone not up to Turnbull etc standard should be shipped out? Where did I say anyone not first team ready should be moved on? Where did I say players should not be given time to reach a standard? What I did say, and I'll repeat it in the hope you get it, is that we should always be looking to upgrade where possible, from within or by recruitment. And that applies across the board, the entire squad which at last count was way more than 13. As for Wilson, I haven't counted the number of games he has had. But if your figure of 100 is correct then the progress he has made in that time is disappointing. In truth he was a better player when he first broke through. In my opinion he has regressed but you are entitled to disagree as you clearly do.

My view is we should upgrade all areas when the chance presents itself, first choice or bench. If that means the likes of Wilson lose out then so be it. But only if we can do better. Maybe Wilson will prove to be a late developer but given the chances he has had here and elsewhere I have my doubts. How long do we wait before trying someone new? Preferably from within as you say but if no-one presents themselves then look elsewhere. Someone who is less of a quality drop from the regular first choice. Someone who will push the player ahead of him to maintain his performance level. Someone who convinces us he can eventually perform at a high level. Ross is at the stage Wilson was around a year or two ago. Failing to convince that he will prove good enough to ever command a first team place. Possibly has earned a wee bit longer but needs to prove he can contribute more when given the chance. We have stuck with players in similar situations in the past (possibly for financial reasons) and inevitably it does not work out. It's a tough and ruthless approach but we cannot retain players just because they are good guys who came through the Academy and give their all....... if their ability does not support our progression. As a comparison, Whyte has shown much more in his loan spell at Stenny and his limited first team minutes with us than either of the two under discussion. It seems likely he will grab his opportunity when it comes. Miller, Turnbull and Johnston from within as earlier examples. Priestman more recently from without. So no Whyte upgrade and it meets the preference for giving youth a chance. I suppose it boils down to the quality of player I believe we should commit to long term and how long we should give a player to prove he has that quality. As for Maswanhise and McGinn I take your point regarding their early careers.. But from a Motherwell point of view they delivered and contributed almost immediately. So it's not a like for like comparison. I should add 'when given the chance', because Maswanhise was hardly flavour off the month under Kettlewell. And It's not an age thing. If a player is not good enough we should move on....21 or 31 it makes no difference.

I agree to a degree but to my way of thinking you look at each position, starter and back up, and look to upgrade where possible. From youth teams (ours and elsewhere) if possible for those back ups.. That way you achieve a constant uplift in quality on the pitch and on the bench.. And more likliehood that those bench players will elevate to first team regulars. Regards Wilson, he has been with us for a good number of years and after a very promising start has shown little to no progress. Despite loan placements to address whatever deficiencies our coaches identified. So how long do we wait before looking to upgrade? Ditto Luca Ross I guess. And if we hold on too long, are we effectively missing out on others that might improve us? Not saying it's easy or that some decisions are painful to make but eventually it will be to the benefit of all concerned to part ways. Cue Wilson scoring the winner on Thursday.

I hear what you say about not wishing to absolve the Club, but mentioning UEFA in mitigation kind of does that. That's the first excuse Brian came up with. UEFA may have been the driver, but it was not UEFA who chose a dangerous and ill thought out solution. Plenty of other teams will have had to modify seating to meet higher standards.....some we will both have visited.....but they did so without the shambles we are now faced with. Someone at the Club got this badly wrong and the Board need to accept that fact and rectify matters before it becomes an even bigger issue. ie. Someone gets injured. Not saying anyone should be sacked. Just that a solution needs to be found. The top tier of the away Stand could possibly be used to temporarily accommodate displaced home fans as improvements are made on a staged basis. Say, 250 or 500 at a time. Maybe not ideal having to move but I think folk would understand. Plenty of home games where a tier of that Stand lies empty. Looking at our fixtures, if and when we get past HJK, Oct 10 v Celtic is the first time the full Stand is certain to be full of away fans. Is that a window that could be utilised ? Even if Freiburg could fill the stand that would only delay matters a week.

On this occasion the Club are ignoring fan feedback and hiding behind Uefa considerations. And the Society are also noticeably silent. In short, MFC made an arse of this and nobody is willing to admit it. The odd person may have received a reply to letters of complaint, but many people putting a reasonable case have not. No way can these seats be considered safe but it appears that only when someone is badly hurt will anybody in authority take notice. Not a good look. Given how well things have gone on the pitch it speaks volumes that seating is the hottest topic in town. I guess many who sit elsewhere will think folk are exaggerating how poor the situation is. But I assure them it is as bad as reported. I really do question whether any of the decision makers have even tested the seats. In fact, on Thursday I offer any one of the Board members...Cub or Society.... (that includes you Brian and Kirk) who sit on those nice comfy seats directly behind me to swap seats for the match. I won't hold my breath though.

I thought the game were set to postpone was the one in the middle of the Freiburg games? Only to apply if we made it to the final play off round.

Cheers. Still recovering from Easter Road so forgot that.

KO on BBC listed as 5PM?

Tactically it looks like AJ plans to start two on the left side who can support each other in pushing forward, with Longelo and Williams the pairing that best fits that set up. Despite the promise of his early career, Wilson has not progressed either offensively or defensively. He should be moved on. That's the same Wilson who struggled to get a game in the Championship last season and who clearly still cannot last a full 90 minutes. If the sale of our major assets continues (contrary to what we were promised) and Longelo does ship out, then we would be relying on Wilson to slot in unless we bring in a direct Longelo replacement. Hardly ideal as we need to finalise our first choice starting eleven sooner rather than later.

Good point. Certainly looks like we are in sell now where we can mode despite earlier Board assurances to the contrary. And given our left back stock it would not surprise me in the slightest if Longelo goes in this window.

Anderlecht signing Antman from Rangers for £4.5m might mean they drop their interest in Maswanhise. He might end up being the one to stay a bit longer. His Agent will be gutted.

Setting aside how uncomfortable and cramped the seats are, the health and safety implications are a major issue.. Seriously, until you have actually been in the seat and attempted to let someone limbo past as the rear of the seat collapses under you, it is difficult to appreciate how much of a mistake they have made....no matter how many good intentions came into play. Heaven forbid, but the thought of needing a quick Stand evacuation is frightening. And that is a factor the issuing of a Safety Licence must take intro account. I've been to most grounds in Scotland and I'm struggling to come with one that is worse than what we have been landed with. Next time you are back home I'll happily let you try it out.

I think each one of those three would have scored on Thursday given the chances created. The opportunities we did not convert against HB were criminal and have kept the tie alive. If none of those three are fit or going to feature under AJ, then we have to quickly find someone to finish off the chances created. With our more direct play under AJ we are going to create more penalty area openings so we need a central striker we can rely upon to convert. And I don't think anybody we saw on Thursday can fill that role. No matter how hard they try.

And yet one of the guys that helped replace the seats said the middle seats were only replaced so they were uniform and looked better. And they were good enough for the Sligo game. I think Brian said what he had to to placate the fans. Not a first. Maybe you should have asked him if he had actually sat in the new seats. And whether they passed a Health and Safety check. I get we are stuck with them but somebody got this badly wrong. After a Euro tie the talk should really be about the game but sadly the hot topic is the seating. There is a reason for that.

Tried that after Genk. Ignored. And they did not need to replace the central seats. It was only the bucket seats on the wings that needed sorted. I wonder if any of the powers that be even tried the seats? Biggest issue is Health and Safety. An injury waiting to happen. How they passed inspection is beyond me. Someone needs to put their hands up and accept they got it badly wrong. But currently wagons being circled. Although those wagons are probably more comfortable than the new seats.