David

I'm sure I've seen games get called on account of the surroundings being unsafe for fans to travel. I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen this weekend, sadly.

I understand where you're coming from, but I think some of those criticisms might not carry as much weight when you look at the bigger picture of our performances and results this season. Points about not closing down, defending too deeply, or not supporting the strikers can often be linked to tactical choices that have ultimately been effective. We're 5th in the league, with a comfortable cushion and games in hand, plus a cup semi-final in the books. These achievements suggest that the approach is working overall, even if it’s not always the most visually pleasing. For instance, defending deeper may not be ideal for possession stats, but it’s clearly effective in certain situations—particularly against stronger opposition, where soaking up pressure and hitting on the counter has proven successful. When it comes to possession, I think it’s worth considering that stats can be misleading. It’s not just about where or how often we lose the ball—it’s about how effective we are when we have it. Even with lower possession figures, we’ve still been able to create chances and score goals at crucial moments, which is why we’re in such a strong position in the league. So, while it’s fair to critique certain aspects of our play, focusing too much on possession numbers or isolated tactical decisions seems like nitpicking when the results on the board show progress. The balance might not be perfect yet, but it’s been delivering success so far, and that’s what matters most. In that context, our season so far has been a success.

I was poking fun at the usual suspects who overlook the current success of the team in favour of the only thing they can moan about. Possession. Jesus Christ man. This place is hard work at times.

I have a feeling you didn't quite get the gist of my original post on the matter. Never mind.

The issue is that Watt is likely to stay in this form as long as he only gets the occasional 15-20 minutes here and there, especially given he didn’t have much of a pre-season or any real match time before joining us. If we want to see the Tony Watt we had a few years ago, we need to play him regularly and allow him to find his rhythm and get match fit. What’s clear is that there’s a player in there. It all comes down to whether we’re prepared to give him the game time to rediscover that form.

My problem with the possession statistics is that they seem to be the only thing people can use to criticise our season so far. Some fans are going to great lengths to approach the situation from the angle of, "Right, we've reached a cup semi-final, we're 5th in the league with a four-point cushion over 6th place, and we have two games in hand, but what about the possession stats?!" Would it be nice to see us retain the ball more? Of course. Would I trade that for winning games and sitting in 5th? Not for a second.

#HappyClapperPatter

Never mind the result. That comes secondary to us winning the possession contest, surely? Will this be the game we finally crack that 35% number and send our possession-obsessed fans into a tizzy? Or will we do what we usually do? And win 2-1 while only getting 8 kicks at the ball team-wide?

At this stage I'd likely look at moving on from Tavares and Vale. Robinson is someone else I'd maybe look to move on, but with a deal until May 2026 it may prove difficult. As for Tony Watt, I think there's a player in there. He just needs a run of games and probably a proper pre-season. I'd keep him around.

I've always blamed Boyle more than Nevin for that whole period of time. He was the guy who hired someone who clearly wasn't qualified for that job.

Look at it from a positive aspect though. It means he's being actively discussed in the media, and any actual serious contenders will be seeing the figures floated about and will know they likely have to at least match or more likely exceed them. I'm happy enough to see him get the headlines.

I don't think so, no. We'll know how many tickets were sold for that section, and will also have every single individual who scanned their ticket at the turnstile, no? Unless people are sneaking in somewhere, which is would open up a whole new line of questioning.

I don't mean that as me saying you're talking nonsense, it's a legitimate question. Because it can only mean one of two things. Either Brian Caldwell has been given false information and is being lied to by someone on the club staff. Or, he was given the correct figures and is choosing to bullshit the fans. I'm not entirely sure either is plausible. I think it's probably more likely that us fans, sitting in various areas of the stadium with differing viewpoints and angles, are likely getting it wrong. Just my personal opinion.

Brian Caldwell being told inaccurate numbers then?

That says more about the squad than it does him, I think. Sad state of affairs really.

Yeah, but Max Johnston is "only" 20 years old. Probably just another of those young ones "that everybody wants to hype and push."

I guess my final thought on this is that there isn't a world where I'd choose 32 year old Kenny McLean over Lennon Miller. unless Clarke is planning to take a 34 year old Kenny McLean to the World Cup. In which case, God help us all.

I don't think it's that confusing really. I've stated my reasoning, which includes Clarke contradicting himself regularly. Oh, if Doak were selected now for his first cap then I'd have no complaint. But he was selected when he'd played basically no first team senior football at all. Which flies in the face of the criteria Clarke has mentioned a few times in the media, which includes not picking players because they don't have enough experience. If having experience and playing regular club football isn't going to be a prerequisite for being picked, don't say it. It really is that simple. When he was making excuses for not picking Shankland despite him rattling goals in left, right and centre, he said Shankland wasn't experienced enough, and didn't have enough "responsibility." Absolute nonsense. Just be honest, and tell us that you didn't want to pick him because you don't rate the Scottish game and that you'd rather pick someone who's playing sporadically down south, and scoring a fraction of the goals. Key word being "currently." How many friendlies do we play now? Games that would have been used to begin involving guys like Miller in the squad? We should be looking to the future and asking ourselves if we believe that the guys you mention will be prime candidates to play at the World Cup in a few years? Again, I pretty much guarantee you that if Miller makes a move in January he'll suddenly be good enough to get picked. If he thinks that one of the most talented youngsters in our game has nothing to offer, then he's mental. Again, stop bleating on about how we don't produce any good young players then dismiss one of our top talents as basically being over-hyped.

Ready to start for the senior team? Probably not. Ready to be part of the squad and see some minutes? Absolutely. We can say that he’s more prepared for this than Doak was when he received his first call-up. The reason for this is simple: Doak had played so little football at that point, it was almost impossible to know what he was truly capable of. He was picked because he'd signed for Liverpool. He was chosen pretty much based entirely on potential. Lennon, on the other hand, has already featured in over 50 senior matches. And the way he's being spoken about reflects that. It's not just because of his potential, but because he has shown it during the senior games he's played. I just want Clarke to be honest. Stop talking nonsense about how we don't have a conveyor belt of young players then actively tell us that you're not picking one of the nation's hottest young talents because he's just "another young one that everybody wants to hype and push." stop telling us that you aren't picking Lawrence Shankland when he's scored 16 goals in 16 games because he needs more experience and more responsibility, then go and pick Tommy Conway who's managed to hit double figures twice in his entire career. Stop telling us that players need to be playing regularly for their clubs to really be considered for international selection then pick players who don't fit that criteria. He's constantly contradicting himself. And in my opinion, should have been punted after the Euros.

He picked Ben Doak for Scotland after he had played 37 minutes of senior league football for Liverpool, and around 12 minutes of senior football for Celtic. Lennon Miller has played 55 games for Motherwell, including a semi-final and he's now captained the side as well. It's not about protecting players or selecting them when they're ready. Clarke will most likely have Lennon Miller in his full international squad the very minute the ink dries on a contract with a German, Italian or English side. That's why we see him constantly go looking for individuals who ply their trade in the lower reaches of the English game who have a hint of Scottish ancestry.

Personally, I'm expecting him not to rabbit on about how well other nations do in promoting youth players who then get picked for the national side, only to then swat away a question about Lennon Miller in his usual style, claiming that "he’s another young one that everybody wants to hype and push." What's it to be, Steve? Do you want young players coming through and playing regularly for their clubs? Or do you only want that as long as people don't get excited about it and "hype" them up?

Can't disagree with most of what you've said. It should also be remembered that Kettlewell is still only 40 years old and before coming to us he had six months of experience as the sole senior manager at any club. Last season, unless I've mathed it wrong, was his first full season in charge of a club as the manager. He's certainly improving with more experience, and while he does get a fair bit wrong, the important thing is learning from it. I'd give him a solid 7/10.

100% this. If Miller were to move down south in January he'd be right into that senior squad. Guaranteed. There's nothing Clarke loves more than that.

I'd disagree that Doak is Scotland's most talented under-21 player. I'd also be interested to know what that's based on? His ten games for Middlesbrough in the Championship? His one and a half games worth of minutes he played for Liverpool last season? Don't get me wrong, he could be very good, but we don't really know yet. If we're honest he was picked for Scotland because Liverpool signed him. That's generally the way Clarke operates.

Steve Clarke on the state of young players in our game: “At some stage, people have to sit down, a think tank or whatever, and try something a bit different that we haven’t tried before to see if we can improve it. If we keep doing what we’re doing, it’s not going to get better. They produce a lot of good young players (Croatia) and allow them to play a lot of games in their own country before they move out, which is a really good grounding and something we can maybe get better at here. And they show a pathway for the young players. There’s a lot we need to try to change if we want to get better. We can get to that level but we still have a lot of work to do.” Steve Clarke on the highly touted Lennon Miller, who's 18, has played a lot of games in his own country: "He’s another young one that everybody wants to hype and push. It’s important to let young players grow. Let’s just allow Lennon a little bit of time and space to grow up at Motherwell." Honestly man.