DEWELL Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 I wonder about McFadden. Was he signed because he was an English Premiership player? Was he good at training? Why did no other team come in for him? Why did he wait so long to sign? He's had 3 two week international breaks and 5 months full time trainig and plenty game time. Yet he's done absolutely nothing? WHY? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punk_in_drublic Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 His signings in the summer lacked pace and creativity? He went for Vigurs who had a good few assists last season and re-signed McFadden who, on the evidence of Feb-May, was going to bring a lot of guile to the table. I don't recall many complaints when we signed these guys in the summer, unusual for this forum. Have these signings worked out? No. My main criticism of McCall this season would be that he seemed to sign Vigurs on the basis of his stats from last season without figuring out where he'd fit within our team. McFadden, well, that particular mystery has been well discussed on here. On the basis of last season's form no one quibbled with his signing.. Lack of pace in the team? Sure, will give you that. He signed Ainsworth (too late, I grant you) to try and remedy this. Anier is also no slouch. Ainsworth, for me, has looked good in short periods of games but can't seem to sustain it. Anier has contributed a few goals but I'm not convinced by him. Would I keep him? No. But nor do I think he's been a truly terrible signing. Looking at his other summer signings, it's a mixed bag. McManus and Sutton have done enough to justify their signing. Nielsen is no better than Hollis but I think he's a decent keeper providing competition (despite a few howlers, which he seems to be ironing out the more he plays). Kerr has all the tools, inconsistent as hell though. Some weeks looks a real prospect, other weeks looks like a guy who's wandered out of the stands. Given his attributes though, I can understand why McCall gambled on him. He won't be on a massive wage. Lawson is the puzzling one. Decent player (County fans seem to think the loss of him is a major reason they're struggling) but not what we needed. Was his pre-contract arranged when it looked like Carswell might not stay? Not a great transfer window for McCall but he's done not too badly in previous ones so I'd give him a chance to repeat the trick. I know we have no money. Did we not sign Ojaama when we had "no money"? McCall has pulled a few rabbits out of hats before (who thought that Clancy or Ramsden would work out as well?) so you never know... Another good post. He has made some decent 'out the blue' signings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 Really still don 't see where the sense of anticipation around Vigurs was generated from. He had a team built around him and floated about the park. Good delivery, nice touch and capable of scoring ascreamer but he's always been a player that has floated in and out of games. Not to dissimilar to Chris Erskine who has failed to make an impact at Tannadice. Anyone that thought he was going to be a playmaker hadn't seen enough of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweed Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 I think there are several issues that have happened this season. 1) Injuries - we have barely had an injury for years. This season we seem to have had quite a lot - Ramsden, Hammell, McFadden, Ainsworth, Angol, Hollis, Vigurs have all had time on the sidelines. Makes me wonder that having had so many years we have been injury free, has something changed? or have we just been damned unlucky this time round. 2) Lack of pace - there are only three players with any pace in our team. Ainsworth, has barely been fit; Anier whilst he has pace is a bit on the lazy side when things go pete tong and Angol has done all right but frightfully inconsistent. 3) New signings underperformed - I think it is clear that Lawson, Vigurs, McFadden have all underachieved. In turn that has put additional pressure on our defence. 4) Lack of leadership on the pitch - this one was there last year but the difference is we had a team that was so good it didn't really matter. Whilst McManus has done a fine job for the most part since he has been here, I have been a bit disappointed by this aspect of his game. 5) This one comes as a result of 1 and 3, but we have no consistency of selection meaning that there is no real understanding in areas of the team. 6) Last season our best players were in the spine of the team which meant those that those round about could play a bit. This time we have a weakness in the goal, we have inconsistency in defence (when Hutch has been missing), Carswell has tailed off a bit and whilst Sutton has been fine, he isn't in Higdon's league. A good spine gives your wingers license to play. What do we do next? Well we probably should try and get about 10 more points with what we have, guarantee our safety in this league and then have a go at embedding the kids on a staggered basis. United were bold and brought in four more or less at the same time in RObertson, Gauld, Butcher and SOuttar but that rarely works. I'd try a couple at a time and if form tails off bring in the next one. Hopefully give them experience of first team players so that we maybe can bolster our squad for next season through that method and maybe get some newbies in that will let us bolster our team This season is not going to be a disaster barring an almighty collapse but it is going to be turgid drivel, we need to try and use people to entertain us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punk_in_drublic Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 This might come across as overly critical - it may be as it's not particularly a subject I have a lot of knowledge in. But teams of our stature, finance an geographical location needs to be producing more first team players from the youth set-up. Easier said than done. Bit over the past few years we've not had too many success stories. Murphy, Hutchison, Reynolds....anymore? Carswell for me is still to move into this category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texanwellfan Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 I was going to start a new thread but i think my question fits well in this topic. In their infinite wisdom the governing body has scheduled 5 rounds of fixtures over a 2 week holiday period Dec 21st to Jan 5th. Probably 'cause they know that every has gobs of money to spare buyibngpresents and goig to 5 games in 2 weeks! Anyway, my question is how does everyone see the top 6 pannign out by January the 7th ( assuming all the games get played ) I'll step up first to be laughed at Celtic Dundee Utd Motherwell Aberdeen Inverness St Johnstone Celtic well in front, Utd a few points ahead of us and then not much separating 3 thru 6 Ok I have to stop typing now as it's time top put my straight jacked back on !! EDIT: Hope Santa gets me some typing lessons for Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelmaninOZ Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 I was going to start a new thread but i think my question fits well in this topic. In their infinite wisdom the governing body has scheduled 5 rounds of fixtures over a 2 week holiday period Dec 21st to Jan 5th. Probably 'cause they know that every has gobs of money to spare buyibngpresents and goig to 5 games in 2 weeks! Anyway, my question is how does everyone see the top 6 pannign out by January the 7th ( assuming all the games get played ) I'll step up first to be laughed at Celtic Dundee Utd Motherwell Aberdeen Inverness St Johnstone Celtic well in front, Utd a few points ahead of us and then not much separating 3 thru 6 Ok I have to stop typing now as it's time top put my straight jacked back on !! EDIT: Hope Santa gets me some typing lessons for Christmas! That's a fair assessment Tex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Jules Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 January will be the decisive month for our season. We play 4 top 6 teams St Johnstone - home, ICT - home, Sheep - home and a trip to the San Giro in the east end. We also have a trip to Tynecastle in amongst that. After we play those games and are into the start of February we'll know where we stand for the rest of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweed Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 I think the next few weeks are going to be critical for the season as a whole. We have: Inverness v Aberdeen Aberdeen v Motherwell Dundee Utd v Aberdeen Motherwell v St Johnstone St Johnstone v Dundee Utd Motherwell v Inverness That means all these teams are playing at least two of their direct opponents for 2nd. Although Inverness are currently 2nd, it is the New Firm who are grabbing the headlines whilst Inverness are being pretty perfunct. Our two home games at the end will tell us a lot about how we are progressing and if United can keep the level of form up over a sustained period of Saturday Thursday Sunday Wednesday Sunday we will know a lot about them too. Between now and Jan 5th won't decide the season but it could go a long way in defining objectives, I think we need to be looking for 9 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Mischief making on my part, but I think our current form & league position puts statements like these into perspective. Keep your powder and your gussets dry troops, it's a long season and we are actually doing not too badly. Even more fun if you had pulled out the quotes from the "I don't care if I have to watch a team of 16 yr olds on the park and get hammered every week, as long as we don't let Sevco into the top flight" brigade. That sentiment didn't last long. I have no idea what some people were expecting at the start of this season given the massive turnover in players, but "deluded" doesn't do them justice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONeils40yarder Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 #whereissteelboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Mischief making on my part, but I think our current form & league position puts statements like these into perspective. Keep your powder and your gussets dry troops, it's a long season and we are actually doing not too badly. Patience is a virtue...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madscot Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Mischief making on my part, but I think our current form & league position puts statements like these into perspective. Keep your powder and your gussets dry troops, it's a long season and we are actually doing not too badly. For once Eddie I concur with you . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Aye Fair do's Eddie. Didn't see this run of results or level or performance coming. I questioned Mccall's appetite for the job and he's proved me wrong by getting right in about some of the under-performing players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweed Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I think there are several issues that have happened this season. 1) Injuries - we have barely had an injury for years. This season we seem to have had quite a lot - Ramsden, Hammell, McFadden, Ainsworth, Angol, Hollis, Vigurs have all had time on the sidelines. Makes me wonder that having had so many years we have been injury free, has something changed? or have we just been damned unlucky this time round. 2) Lack of pace - there are only three players with any pace in our team. Ainsworth, has barely been fit; Anier whilst he has pace is a bit on the lazy side when things go pete tong and Angol has done all right but frightfully inconsistent. 3) New signings underperformed - I think it is clear that Lawson, Vigurs, McFadden have all underachieved. In turn that has put additional pressure on our defence. 4) Lack of leadership on the pitch - this one was there last year but the difference is we had a team that was so good it didn't really matter. Whilst McManus has done a fine job for the most part since he has been here, I have been a bit disappointed by this aspect of his game. 5) This one comes as a result of 1 and 3, but we have no consistency of selection meaning that there is no real understanding in areas of the team. 6) Last season our best players were in the spine of the team which meant those that those round about could play a bit. This time we have a weakness in the goal, we have inconsistency in defence (when Hutch has been missing), Carswell has tailed off a bit and whilst Sutton has been fine, he isn't in Higdon's league. A good spine gives your wingers license to play. Just looked back at this and after the five games we have won you can suddenly see a difference. 1. Other than Hollis, Erwin and Kerr (only Hollis is a possible first pick) suddenly we have had a good run on the injuries front. 2. Ainsworth and Anier both playing and that problem is away. 3. Vigurs, Faddy and Lawson (at Aberdeen) suddenly playing as they can. 4. Much improved at Aberdeen - Ramsden, Hutchinson and Lasley all excellent. 5. Suddenly the team is picked on ability and opposition rather than shoe horning 11 fit ones in. 6. Goalie playing well, central defence superb, Carswell and Lasley upped it a bit and Sutton, Anier and Faddy all playing well up top. Not saying these are all the things that have turned it round but certainly made a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Diggle Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 That's football Good runs where things work out, bad runs when they don't. Given the factors we endure re resources and player turnover the good times outweigh the bad incredibly. The point is that the vitriol was unnecessary in the bad run. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welldaft Mk1 Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Unnecessary but hardly surprising. There is probably NO support in world football who do not moan and look to blame all and sundry when results are poor. What would be refreshing is if some fans of Motherwell could balance a few bad results with the good results over the past 3 seasons with McCall. This latest run shows that in McCall we have a good Manager who the players respect. We will no doubt hit a bad run before the end of the season and the usual suspects will post their informed views of how we could be doing better with another Manager. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Diggle Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I'm no talking about 'moaning' tho, everyone can expect that I agree What we had / have here is more than that and there are a few who will be genuinely pleased to get the opportunity to get in about a few players / staff as soon as the chance arises Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Unnecessary but hardly surprising. There is probably NO support in world football who do not moan and look to blame all and sundry when results are poor. See, that is what really annoys me. By the way, I'm not having a go at you as I think the point you make in the next paragraph is bang on. No one, not a single person on here, has tried to even suggest that we should be happy with the run of results we had or with the cup exits that we've seen this season. The likes of Diggle and Andy_P (who I think posts a lot of quality stuff) and others have simply tried to point out reasons for things or to ask for a modicum of respect for what McCall and his staff and players have achieved in previous months/years. No-one has been saying life is great and being "happy clappy". Well In Europe is another poster who I enjoy reading comments from and, from what I've read, is usually more positive than not but some of his posts last month showed how upset and frustrated he was with what he was witnessing. Andy_P did the same. They listed many of the things that were exasperating to them and I was more than happy to read it. We're all here to communicate and if things aren't going well then they need to be said. However, this attitude that some have that posters who don't call McCall a cunt are blind and "happy clappy" is baffling. Which brings me to the abuse, and it was abuse, that McCall and the players suffered on here in recent weeks. I bit my tongue a couple of weeks ago when MJC suggested that hardly any of the comments on here were over the top. What shite. Far more pish than any of the "look at me" posts that he can be guilty of posting on here (by the way, do you notice there's always got to be one? It used to be MJC when he went full-blown caricature, then steelboy stepped up to take the crown but when he toned it down a little, MJC stepped it right back up again). McCall (or McCunt as he's been referred to) took no ends of abuse as did players like Lawson and Vigurs. Is that really the way we want to treat our own? Again, criticise them all you want for poor performances because it's deserved but McCall wasn't even given a chance to turn things around - despite everything he's achieved with our club on our tiny budget. Some on here would have had "that Ross County dud" Vigurs never wearing a Motherwell shirt again but I believe he was challenging for MotM in the last game. That doesn't mean he won't turn out to be a poor signing, but how about we at least wait until his first season before we make that decision, eh? If I could be bothered to look in the Ins and Outs thread, I'm sure I'd find the same people praising the signings of Lawson and Vigurs are the ones being most vociferous now. The likes of Ainsworth wasn't being given much of a chance and look how he's doing now. Diggle goes about it the wrong way, in my opinion, but I totally see why he acts like he does because it truly is baffling to see how so many on here react to a poor (yes, a terribly poor) spell. Call it like it is. If we play badly, say we play badly. Point at the culprits who didn't perform. But at least try to be articulate about it and at least give people, especially McCall after all he's done for us FFS, a chance to rectify mistakes. Oh, and don't insult people who are hurting like hell after a Motherwell defeat by calling them "happy clappy" simply because they try to hold on to some positivity and don't simply want to run to their nearest device to type "McCall's a cunt". 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Diggle Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Tremendous post stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punk_in_drublic Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Jules Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Where do we go from here ? Hopefully a wee trip to Holland, Belgium, Germany or even Italy or Spain, basically the long and short of it is break out the passports lads cause its Motherwell european tour time again ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazzie Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Where do we go from here ? Hopefully a wee trip to Holland, Belgium, Germany or even Italy or Spain, basically the long and short of it is break out the passports lads cause its Motherwell european tour time again ! Premature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Jules Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I know Frazzie i just couldn't help thinking bout it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Jules Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I did say hopefully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.