joewarkfanclub

I agree. But to be fair its hard to create goals from open play when we have so little of the ball. I get that shape out of possession is important, and not many teams play through us, but that cant be at the expense of playing football when we get the ball. We simply just have to keep possession of it for longer and create a foundation to play from. Also it means the type of goal we lose is pretty similar. Id love to see the stats for how many we concede from wide areas and set pieces. Id wager its pretty high.

Robinson?

Given we dont really have enough fit midfielders to not play 3 at the back and that Frail is unlikely to change the system, Id go with this (if fit). Balcombe Balmer Gordon Casey Kaleta Thompson Slattery Miller Nicholson Maswanhise Armstrong If either Miller, Slattery or both arent fit enough then Paton and Halliday will have to do or maybe Andrews. Most important thing though is to get the wing backs pushed right up to support the midfield and keep Ross County pinned back. Nicholson and Maswanhise will have to do a lot of running to support Armstrong. Not much football in the back 3 but I think the SOD / Blaney experiment has run its course. Id love to see us go 4 at the back with a midfield of Miller, Slattery, Paton, with Nicholson and Maswanhise prividing the width but seems highly unlikely given the circumstances.

I agree. Its gonna be a long week otherwise!

Im not sure where you are getting the disconnect from? Given that the board are now all Well Society members, the board literally are all Motherwell fans. I get that folks are annoyed about being blamed for SKs resignation. It pissed me off too. But there has been significant back peddling on that since, with it being mentioned in virtually every media release and interview since. Also heard on Off the Ball earlier that Brian Caldwell recently lost his father, so maybe that played into his presentation last week and we can forgive him and the club for taking a little time to sort things out.

I wouldnt write Frail off so quickly. He was right to say that ripping things up v Celtic would have been a mistake. He only had a few days to prepare the team. Wholesale changes could have backfired spectacularly and seen us on the receiving end of a hiding. Even if the new manager is unveiled next week, they wont be in the door long enough to have any impact on tactics and formation for this game. Frail will have had a full 2 weeks to the Ross County game to put his own stamp on things and put enough work into the team to have them drilled effectively. If he doesnt change anything, then questions should be asked. Ultimately though, the new manager will need someone there initially with knowledge of the players and the league, unless of course we go down the homegrown route, which I just dont see. On the Casey subject. Even if he has been left out for speaking his mind, surely enough time has passed now to bring him back in from the cold. The point has been made.

We need a new manager in place for this. The game is way too important for all the reasons listed above. The supporters and players both need a gee up. The correct appointment and an inspirational presser could go a long way. Miller & Slattery both making the squad would also help!

I hadnt really considered McCall. He was a lovely fella and seemed to be a good man manager, but he did have quite a bit of money at his disposal at that time. We went with a smaller squad but were paying more in wages/bonuses to attract a better quality player. Would he be able to achieve the same success on the current budget? Would he have refreshed his ideas enough to justify giving him another shot? Maybe he could turn Davor into the modern day Stuart Carswell! Ultimately, Id still prefer Ryan Lowe (I think) based only on his Wikipedia page!

He doesnt. He is just being MJC. He could turn out to be right. But given we have a much younger and refreshed board now, backed up by a much younger and refreshed Well Society, I think the chances of going for the cheap/easy option are much reduced. If the large number of applications is true then we will at least be going through an interview process, unless there is a stand out candidate that blows all the others away (unlikely). Frail hasnt given any indication he wishes to be considered or has applied.

The subject arose out of someone suggesting taking Stuart McCall back bud. Discussion now over 😉

Had a look at Ryan Lowes wiki. Very interesting reading. Management style influenced by Klopp and Guardiola. Plays attacking football. Done well at Bury, Plymouth and PNE. Never been sacked. Im all in!

Carswell was much derided at the time but he was a hard worker and had much more to his game than Davor. Similar in a lot of ways to Marc Fitzpatrick imho, who also never got a lot of credit in his time here, despite scoring a goal that took us to a cup final.

Given its Ben Banks reporting, I would presume Ketsbaia has indeed submitted an application. However, it could well be one of those applications to get your name in the papers to highlight to other clubs that you are available. Even if interested, not sure how comfortable Id be. Feels like the kind of appointment that would throw cash at players he knows that we might need to empty when it inevitably goes Pete Tong. Of course he could just as easily win us the cup and become a club legend! (Not this season obviously).

To be honest, out of the bookies list, John McGlynn is probably one of the more attractive options given his experience. But there is no way we will be paying the fee required to get him, even if Falkirk were prepared to let him go and he wanted to come. I agree it will probably be a left field appointment based on interview performance.

I think the biggest thing this squad lacks is energy. We dont have a lot of legs in the team, particularly in midfield, even with everyone fit. Its good there are a lot out of contract at end of season as it will allow the new manager scope to carry out a rebuilding job (again). I wouldnt be renewing Halliday or Davor. Paton would be okay as a squad player but not essential. Slattery will depend on his recovery and whether he is interested in staying. But if he returns to full fitness Id offer him something. Id punt Robinson and Stuparevic. Koutroumbis, I really have no idea as we have barely seen him play.

Not really sure what "style" of football Murray's teams play, but he is quite an experienced manager now even at a young age and has a bit of success in the lower leagues. Raiths decision to can him last season after nearly bringing them up seemed very odd, although I dont remember their fans being that mad about it because of the poor start they had made? Wouldnt be the worst choice imho, but would be more of a wait and see kind of appointment. (Which to be fair, is likely to be the case whoever we go for).

I believe he got a pay rise and an extension when he turned the Hibs job down. Ayr have real aspirations of making the top tier this year.

If you read my previous post, you will see I dont have many issues with this window. Its not just this window Im talking about though. SK stubbornly stuck to his 3 at the back system all season. Our tactics have clearly to be to allow the opposition to have the ball and break quickly on the counter. But we didnt sign the correct players to do that. Sure injuries conspired against him and he had absolutley no luck in that regard as it left him with so few midfielders that he was unable or unwilling to change the system to make us more functional. Being unable to field his preferred 11 obviously made things very difficult, buy he didnt address the main issue in this window either. The priority should have been midfield. We have signed 1 youth player on loan. Now I realise that you cant get every target you are after, and the order in which you get them cant always be predicted or controlled, but with Nicholson and Slattery not 100% and the possibility that the injured Miller could have been sold, I would have expected more business in that area of the pitch. Anyway, whats done is done. The new manager will have their own thoughts on how they want to do things. Be interesting to see which way we go.

Stats seem to be the be all and end all theses days. Not saying thats wrong, I guess in the global world we live in, it can cut out a lot of time searching for the right kind of player. I guess Im at an age that Id still like the manager to go and actually see the player play before we sign them. Obviously that wont be possible all the time, but given the markets we usually shop in, shouldnt be impossible.

Oops! So I did! Out of sight out of mind! Fixed it! 😆😆😆

Certainly farming out Wilson to the juniors helped his development. Although I think he could still work on his fitness / diet and his body positioning. Both Wells and Ross still looked like wee boys in a mans world this season. Hopefully they will come back men.

Thats a bit simplistic We no longer have reserve football to get young boys used to playing against senior players. They just go from youth football straight into first team squads. Physical development can play a big part at that age as all boys mature at different rates. Not everyone is a generational talent like Lennon Miller, and even he was a fairly big boy at 16. Of course some wont make it, at least not with us. But a lot of our boys go on to play senior football at a decent level. I think we do ok.

There will be a few needing to be emptied for sure. Particularly once the new manager comes in and see's who he fancies and who he doesnt. Thankfully there are a lot of loanees who will go and quite a few out of contract. Sonthere should be plenty of room for manoevre. Discussions need to be be had about signing policy though. We either pick a formation that suits the players, or sign the right players to suit a formation. SK got the first part right initially. Its after that it all went wrong for him.

So the window is closed. How do we reflect on it? On the one hand, we still have our prize asset who is 2-4 weeks away from resuming training. Probably too late to effect whether we end up top or bottom 6, but hopefully with enough time to come in and flourish under a new manager and generate the kind of revenue we are hoping for at the end of the season. Ive always hoped he might get a Scotland cap before he left and with 2 friendlies at the start of June, it would be nice to see him sign off like that and get his dream move. As for the rest of the squad...... GK - Balcombe and Ward. Injured - Oxborough Bit of a chaotic window in this regard with Heygi being recalled, Ox and Mair both breaking fingers and having to go out and source 2 more keepers. Given the circumstances, Balcombe looks like he will do fine for now and Ward, well, we will see. Defence........ Kaleta, Koutroumbis, SOD, Casey, Balmer, Gordon, Blaney, Wilson, Thompson. Injured - McGinn, Seddon. Certainly sufficient cover for all positions, whether there is enough quality remains to be seen, but the new manager will certainly have sufficient numbers to work with to try and identify a successful formula. Thompson coming in at least allows Wilson to be rested long enough for Seddon to get back and provide competition. Midfield....... Halliday, Davor, Paton, Sparrow, Slattery, Andrews. Injured -Miller, Callachan This has been the problem area of the team all season and we dont seem to have addressed it in any meaningful way. It restricts our ability to alter formations and we dont have enough legs in the team to allow us to press higher up the park and win the ball back. Our best hope is that Slattery can build his fitness up and he and Miller can form some sort of partnership. Sparrow is a willing runner and Paton, although much maligned, does flourish when playing with better players alongside him. Andrews has talent and may also come under that category, but unfair to ask him to shoulder the pressure on his own. Much will depend on the new manager, formation and our ability to get guys fit and keep them fit. Still missing a proper defensive mid. Forwards......... Armstrong, Maswanhise, Nicholson, Watt, Moses, Plange, Dickson. Injured - Robinson, Tavares, Vale, Stamatelopoulos. There should be enough there for the new manager to work with. Key will be getting them enough actual possession to create chances and score goals. Summary..... We have covered most of the problem areas with numbers at least. Midfield is a problem, but with a different manager, set up and outlook to playing the game there looks like there could be sufficient to turn results and performances around to at least keep us out of a relegation dogfight. The huge BUT, is that it all hinges on the right managerial appointment. First big test for the new Board / Chairman. Get it right, and we could have a positive end to the season. Get it wrong and we could be up shit creek.

All good points. Hopefully Celtic are not the only bidder and the clubs resolve does not require to be put to the test as we AND the player will have better options!