Wizwag Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 York fan here. We signed Straker as a winger. Thats where he had played for Southend for the last couple of seasons. Southend fans were not unhappy to lose him to be honest. Im being totally honest when I say he has looked pretty awful for us. He's strong and has pace, but on the downside his final ball is poor, most of his crosses are poor and his first touch can be awful. The only glint of hope I can give you is that he looked a little better when we tried him at left-back. He was orignally a LB so this may be where his future lies. Ive got to say we were all a little gobsmacked when you took him. Best of luck with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Doesnt sound promising. Ojamma didnt look fantastic since he returned but with the 2 signings made so far, it looks like we are going to continue to struggle to score goals. Finances are tight just now but next year is going to be even worse in the Championship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottW1886 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Can't agree - Pearson was actually a very potent attacking force against Dundee Utd so I think he'll add something in the way of goals. Should have had a penalty, set up Sutton for what was initially given as a goal and was unlucky not to score himself. He also linked up well with Erwin so I'm encouraged that he can create chances... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domeski7 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Hopefully a change of club will freshen him up and he hits the ground running so to speak. I wont judge him til i have seen him & let him get a few games under his belt. Hope fellow Well fans will do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 York fan here. We signed Straker as a winger. Thats where he had played for Southend for the last couple of seasons. Southend fans were not unhappy to lose him to be honest. Im being totally honest when I say he has looked pretty awful for us. He's strong and has pace, but on the downside his final ball is poor, most of his crosses are poor and his first touch can be awful. The only glint of hope I can give you is that he looked a little better when we tried him at left-back. He was orignally a LB so this may be where his future lies. Ive got to say we were all a little gobsmacked when you took him. Best of luck with him. That's a pretty damning assessment of the player. If even half of that turns out to be slightly true then it's yet another player contributing nothing and picking up a wage for nothing. Still, he'll not be out of place on that basis at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Spoken to a mate who is a Notts County fan, watching them home and away every week. Here is what he had to say about Laing. "Really good to start off with then he had a game at Scunthorpe akin to me playing drunk. Got injured and never recovered. He's decent on the ball, fairly mobile. Not as good in the air as you'd expect. Definitely got a bit of talent though" Sounds like he wont be any worse than what we have at centre half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONeils40yarder Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 The proof will be in the pudding...lets give these boys a fair crack at the whip, heaven knows the likes of Fraser Kerr, Ian Vigurs and Francis-Angol have all had more than enough chances to prove themselves...and failed miserably for the most part. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malky79 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 It's not Barraclough's fault the injury list we've had and the crap players McCall should never have signed ie Reid,Ainsworth Twardzik. Our new man has to be given time to sort this mess out and lets see how we do after the window and once we have our end of season clearout. Now is not the time to sack the manager we need everyone up for the battles ahead. <_> No qualms with questioning some indeed quite a few of McCalls later decisions but seriously you questioning him signing Ainsworth on the back of last seasons form? I'd argue Twardzik is definitely an improvement on Hollis if not entirely filling me with confidence. As much as any such award is pretty devalued this season he'd be one of the few contenders for POTY. Reid possibly should have been let go, did us a turn last season though and McCall chose to give him a deal. Kind of player probably useful to have around, probably not on lot of money and can fill in a number of roles. As you say we also had some poor luck with injuries, I was happy enough to get Ojamma in. I'd certainly if offered have taken him ahead of Clarkson at the time but he only really performed in a handful of games. Apart from injuries our biggest issue has been Vigurs and Ainsworth, we needed the former to step up to a more consistent level and the latter to at least play to a similar level as last season. As Tweed often points out as poor as some of our defenders have been, very often a makeshift defence as well, we have really in far to many games ceded to much possession and it's been our should be star turns of Vigurs, Ojamma and Ainsworth that haven't performed and left us up against it more often than not. Also on Steelboys comments on Barraclough. I agree it does seem a bit OTT to apportion much of the blame at his door. Thank fuck we got those first two wins though or I think we really would be calling for his head and if this 5 game losing run makes it to 7 he must be under pressure. If performances match and indeed improve on last saturday I hope the board backs him and believe we'll come good but we are heading into the business end of the season and these signings Barraclough makes now had better be good or we are in trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 We could really do with posters not humouring trolls. Not quite sure what you mean. Wiki's definition of an internet troll is "In internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off topic messages in an online community." I'm sure there are others. The poster, in this case Leanne, whoever she/he is, doesn't come into this category. The term "Troll" is often misused to refer to someone who makes comments that run contrary to the views of some of the more active posters. Thankfully not all posters agree on everything otherwise the site would be boring. In my view all comments are welcome on this site provide that they are not illegal or bring the site into disrepute. I don't like personal abuse or overuse of swearing but under the rules of the site they are allowed. To go back to the original post I can't see whats wrong with it. You might not agree with it but fair enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazles ring piece Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Pearson is a quality signing imo.However, if the other signings aren't up to standard, just watch the reaction of some of the players who look disinterested at present. mcmanus being a prime example! There is a fine line in any dressing room and the lack of quality, fuelled by losses in bonus money will be having an effect on team moral and in some cases, individual commitment. I.B. to me, looks like the wrong appointment, but that may be a little unfair due to his time in the job. I really do hope the players aren't also in agreement! However, if no impact is made in this window we really are in a precarious position.Time for Ian Baraclough's pressing, possession football to materialise. Here's hoping for better fortunes against St.Johnstone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numpty Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 The proof will be in the pudding. * Eating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthefringes Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 The circumstances then were completely different to those that Baraclough has found himself in. Brown took over a side that was sitting in 6th place when Gannon was sacked, and he had players like Jennings, Hateley, Ruddy, Reynolds, Jutkiewicz and Murphy to see him through until the end of the season. Gannon was a bit mental, but we weren't in as bad shape playing-wise as we were when Baraclough joined us. McCall had more background knowledge on the current squad than anyone and he was at a loss to figure out what the fuck was going on, wasn't he? Just because Baraclough knew some of our players and had an idea of what they were capable of doesn't mean he was going to be able to come in and sprinkle some magic dust to turn around our fortunes. He's brought in two players thus far, and one of them is a quality midfielder that knows the Scottish game well. The other is a bit of an unknown, but we can't really judge him until we've seen him get some game time. Yeah, there is. Sack Baraclough after eight game or so, stick Kenny Black back in charge and proceed to go through the entire process of recruiting a manager again, all the while admitting that we didn't know what the fuck we were doing in the first place, because that's what such actions will suggest. Why any other manager worth his salt would take us seriously after that is beyond me to be honest. Would you risk your reputation on a club that fired a guy a few months after he was in the door? I know that I certainly wouldn't. If we're wanting to survive relegation the best thing to go for is continuity. That means keeping the guy you hired, especially when he's only just gotten started in the job and has signed a couple of players. Let him do his job for fuck sake man. If this team falls into the Championship the blame lies at the feet of the current playing staff and the former manager, not the guy who was brought in late on to try and mop up the mess. Am I suggesting that our new manager be given use of a budget to rectify mistakes and issues that the club had before he was appointed? Yes. That's how it works, isn't it? The new guy is appointed and is then given the funds to do his own thing with the team. That'll be me told... right of reply? Circumstances may well have been different, the essence of my point was the team was on a downward spiral at that point in time & the 'new manager bounce' that's oft heralded in some quarters prevailed. And not for the first time, a play on my words to suit your lofty stance. Openly embraced the appointment of Baraclough, ticked the boxes of many with a left of field appointment that meant, yet again, progressive thinking had the tired media hacks scratching round for relevance & the great Scottish old-boys managerial network didn't get a foot hold at my club. Felt a new broom should have swept clean - it didn't. May well be other factors in that, but, would we be any worse appointing he of ex-Airdrie until the end of the season & performed a proper root & branch re-build then, given you said, in your own words, 'If we're wanting to survive relegation the best thing to go for is continuity'? Now, I didn't expect Baraclough to be able to come in and sprinkle some magic dust to turn around our fortunes as you put it - leather purse & sow's ear comes to mind, but, we have seen no shoots of recovery though unless I've been living on the moon. His job description must be failrly lax given some of the shambolic offerings & current run of form he's presided over - other walks of life would have seen fit to dismiss, why then not football? Let him do his job for fuck sake man? Charming. I have done entirely that, from a position of embracing his appointment to the lack of confidence currently felt. Like I said previously, the current squad weren't up for debate - the compound problems between them, their comfort zone & our ex-management staff will be well documented in time, but, I certainly don't think I'd be the only one suggesting we are now in a worse state than we were previously? He dinitely wasn't brought in too late to halt the decline, yes, he had to be backed, if it ends up in relegation - he'll be as culpable not guilty by association - it's why I don't think throwing more money at a tradesman who is showing he hasn't the aptitude to perform the task would be the creative use of the budget much required at the club. You keep fighting the good fight though 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat_tony Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 If Laing comes in tomorrow that gives us McManus O'Brien Ramsden Kerr Reid Cummins Laing that can all play centre back. Unbalanced squad? I suspect it suggests that the manager is looking to get one or two out on loan for the rest of the season, and/or doesn't see them as a good option. It does look a bit excessive when you see them listed like that, but I'm sure he has a reason for signing the players he has. York fan here. We signed Straker as a winger. Thats where he had played for Southend for the last couple of seasons. Southend fans were not unhappy to lose him to be honest. Im being totally honest when I say he has looked pretty awful for us. He's strong and has pace, but on the downside his final ball is poor, most of his crosses are poor and his first touch can be awful. The only glint of hope I can give you is that he looked a little better when we tried him at left-back. He was orignally a LB so this may be where his future lies. Ive got to say we were all a little gobsmacked when you took him. Best of luck with him. Strength and pace are two things that can really have a huge impact in this league, so you never know. We're severely lacking in pace at the moment, so for that alone it could be a good move. Hell, even someone with a bit of energy and directness could make a massive difference. Does the comment on him having pace but a poor final ball and first touch scream "Chris Humphrey" to anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAM Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I think he doesn't see Ramsden or Reid as CB and is likely to look to ship out Cummins which leaves us with only 3 in that position and then makes sense that he wants another in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggischomper Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Have we punted any out the door yet? Addition by subtraction... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbcmfc Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Does the comment on him having pace but a poor final ball and first touch scream "Chris Humphrey" to anyone else? My first thought too, a stronger version if Chris Humphrey couldnt be a bad thing? Pearson looks a good signing based on the highlights of the Dundee United game and what we already know about him. Exactly what we needed, a mobile box to box midfielder. Straker sounds like he could be ok? Sometimes things work out for players at one club and not another. Some of the worst players I've seen in a motherwell shirt had great success elsewhere, and some of the best came with low expectations, or moved on and didn't impress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbcmfc Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 At least half those centre halves listed are injury prone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Laing expected to be confirmed "within the hour" according to certain journalists on Twitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 That'll be me told... right of reply? What? I'm not sure what that even means? You made some points, I made some points, it's a discussion. Circumstances may well have been different, the essence of my point was the team was on a downward spiral at that point in time & the 'new manager bounce' that's oft heralded in some quarters prevailed. And not for the first time, a play on my words to suit your lofty stance. Yeah, but circumstances play a part, don't they? It all depends on various factors as to how a new managerial appointment will affect a team. I don't think our squad now is anywhere close to having the quality that it had in it when Brown took over, and we were sitting higher up the table, so the threat of relegation wasn't quite as major an issue. Openly embraced the appointment of Baraclough, ticked the boxes of many with a left of field appointment that meant, yet again, progressive thinking had the tired media hacks scratching round for relevance & the great Scottish old-boys managerial network didn't get a foot hold at my club. Felt a new broom should have swept clean - it didn't. What do you mean that a new broom should have swept clean? Are you meaning the staff who were there from McCall's era? If so, I'm not sure it's just as simple as telling them to hit the road, there are contracts that would need to be paid up I think, and I don't think we're in a position to do that at the moment. We'll maybe see a significant shift in the backroom staff come the summer. May well be other factors in that, but, would we be any worse appointing he of ex-Airdrie until the end of the season & performed a proper root & branch re-build then, given you said, in your own words, 'If we're wanting to survive relegation the best thing to go for is continuity'? If you look back you'll actually see that I was an advocate of bringing someone in short-term until the summer, allowing us to bring someone in with a fresh slate. I'd mentioned the likes of Tommy McLean maybe doing the kind of job we initially brought in Craig Brown to do, or even leaving Black in charge. But we didn't do that, we appointment Baraclough so we really should be prepared to back him and give him a sufficient amount of time to do the job. Now, I didn't expect Baraclough to be able to come in and sprinkle some magic dust to turn around our fortunes as you put it - leather purse & sow's ear comes to mind, but, we have seen no shoots of recovery though unless I've been living on the moon. Yeah, he's been here for less than two months, and in that time he's been working primarily with the squad of players that have gotten us into this mess. I'm not entirely sure what you expected him to do that McCall wasn't capable of? His job description must be failrly lax given some of the shambolic offerings & current run of form he's presided over - other walks of life would have seen fit to dismiss, why then not football? How many other companies would hire a new manager when they're experiencing an downturn in business and get rid of him when he didn't turn it around in less than two months? That's simply mental to be honest. Let him do his job for fuck sake man? Charming. I have done entirely that, from a position of embracing his appointment to the lack of confidence currently felt. Sorry mate, to come to the conclusion you have when the guy has been here for a grand total of 48 days is a bit off to be honest. I simply can't agree with it. Like I said previously, the current squad weren't up for debate - the compound problems between them, their comfort zone & our ex-management staff will be well documented in time, but, I certainly don't think I'd be the only one suggesting we are now in a worse state than we were previously? I don't really think we are. We were a bit shit before he arrived, and we're still a bit shit. In order for that to change we need to offload some of the players who aren't performing and bring in replacements. He simply cannot do that to his full ability until the summer, can he? He dinitely wasn't brought in too late to halt the decline, yes, he had to be backed, if it ends up in relegation - he'll be as culpable not guilty by association - it's why I don't think throwing more money at a tradesman who is showing he hasn't the aptitude to perform the task would be the creative use of the budget much required at the club. Really? From a period of 48 days and 7 games you've reached the conclusion that he doesn't have the aptitude to do the job? Despite him having a pretty poor squad to work with, and a decent amount of injuries to contend with as well? I guess everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but I find that kind to be baffling if I'm honest. You keep fighting the good fight though I'm not fighting any kind of fight, be it good or bad. All I'm doing is resisting the urge to allow my knees to jerk all over the shop. We're in a relegation battle, and we're trying to bring in some players during the window to help us consolidate our current position and stay ahead of the two teams below us. That's our main concern. Replacing the manager any time before the end of the season is simply mental in my opinion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Straker sounds like he could be ok? Sometimes things work out for players at one club and not another. Some of the worst players I've seen in a motherwell shirt had great success elsewhere, and some of the best came with low expectations, or moved on and didn't impress. Aye, he sounds like the kind of player who blows hot & cold. Not really surprising, as a player in his position who blows mainly hot would likely be outwith our reach. We'll just need to wait and see how he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superward Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 We'll just need to wait and see how he does. Spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggischomper Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Replacing the manager right now is not an option. He hasn't even signed any players long term yet. I'd imagine he has two sets of targets. Those that can come in on loan right away and do a job to keep us up and those he will try for in the summer who will comprise the next Motherwell squad for 2015-16. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Replacing the manager right now is not an option. He hasn't even signed any players long term yet. I'd imagine he has two sets of targets. Those that can come in on loan right away and do a job to keep us up and those he will try for in the summer who will comprise the next Motherwell squad for 2015-16. Pretty much. Once he has a solid idea of who's staying and going in the summer he'll have a better idea of the kind of budget he has to play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Louis Laing now officially on loan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numpty Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Louis Laing now officially on loan. For long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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