joewarkfanclub

Asking players and fans to drive up the A9 when the weather forecast is as shite as it is, would be really poor imho. Id rather we didnt have to postpone as we dont want the fixtures to back up, but safety really should be paramount. The roads are already bad and Saturdays forecast is horrendous.

Id love Tony Watt to turn it around, prove his fitness and earn a contract with us and finish his career here. I just dont see it at the moment though. I get that he is unlikely to get fully match fit without significant gametime, but I had hoped to see some improvement in his cameos from the bench to show he deserved to start. That hasnt happened. He still has time. Id like to see him start up top with Stama, as I think both would benefit from having someone with football intelligence alongside them. For me, Vale is a safer bet once fit again. If he is out of contract at the end of the season, I think getting him on a permanent contract would be a no brainer.

Doak plays in a position where he has no competition. Its much easier to make a case for his inclusion when there is a weakness in the squad that he can fill. I think he proved it last night. Im all for Lennon being included in a squad to get him used to the environment. But there is no way he is getting gametime at the moment when the bench has John McGinn on it. Re Kenny Maclean. He is one of the most underated players in the squad. He has played in a number of different positions for Scotland and never let us down in any of them. Players like that are a managers dream, hence why he has been trusted in this Nations League A Group as a starter in the absence of McGregor. I dont know whether he will still be around should we get tot he World Cup, but I wouldnt bet against it. It would be nice for Lennon to be called up soon whilst he is still with us as it would add a bit to his value, and I have no doubts he will be a Scotland regular very soon. Just not right now.

The future is bright.......

Dykes gets us up the park. He doesnt have much of a goal threat, but none of our strikers do given the way we set up. Conway worked really hard last night, but he was no nearer to scoring a goal than Dykes, Adams or Shankland before him. Our goals basically come from midfielders arriving late in the box. McGinn, McTominay, Armstrong, McGregor, McLean have all been beneficiaries of the work done by Dykes since his arrival in our squad. That may change with Doaks rise to prominence, but I wouldnt be writing Dykes off just yet.

Seems to be doing well. Hopefully he can add something to the team in the second half of the season!

Without wanting to disappoint Texan here and get into a tit for tat debate, do you think Lennon Miller is ready for the Senior Squad right now?

He is answering loaded questions from journalists and trying not to give them their headline. Clearly Croatia are better at bringing through young players than we are. But thats a different question than trying to protect young players when they are not quite ready for the senior squad. The two are related. But they are not the same. He did the same with Ben Doak when folk were clamouring for him to be involved. Clarke will select Miller when he is ready. Right now, I dont think he is.

😆😆😆 It'll never last! 😆😆😆

Not sure what folks are expecting from Stevie Clarke? Who does Lennon Miller displace in the Scotland squad. Gilmour, McLean, Christie, McTominay, McGinn, Armstrong? You could make a case for Connor Barron, but even he is further ahead in his development than Miller. Lennon isnt ready for the senior team yet. He clearly has the ability and if he had bossed it against Celtic and Rangers recently not to mention his last U21 apearance then the calls for his inclusion would have been harder to ignore. Folks can pick fault with Clarke for many things, this isnt one of them.

No argument here. We are far from perfect and SK still makes his fair share of mistakes. But he as a manager and we as a club are getting more right than wrong. The big test is going to be around the turn of the year when the majority of players are fit and available for selection. SK is going to have some serious decisions to make. Hopefully he makes the right ones. Oh, and hanging on to Lennon Miller until the end of the season, even if it is a loan back, would be good!

On the Turnbull v Miller debate. Turnbull certainly had more impact with his goals but he didnt debut until 18. Millers has already played 50 games at the same age so his ceiling is probably far higher.

Brian McLair certainly signed for us after being at Aston Villa youths but I had to go and check about Faddy as I had never heard of the Hearts link. We seem to be the only team listed on his youth career from aged 15. But there is an article in the Daily Record saying that he had signed S-forms with Hearts but was training with us. In the interview Faddy says he was training at Motherwell from aged 12. So no idea what the actual situation was with Hearts?

SOD on Open Goal this week. Some good stuff in there amongst the usual nonsense.

Every chance. However, Bologna's old manager is now at Juventus and there was talk of him taking Ferguson there befor he got injured. If Ferguson has a strong finish to the season, Bologna might be in the market for a new midfielder. Be a far better move for Lennon imho.