Ya Bezzer! Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 F*** me, some guys are never happy! A 6' 7" defender (actual height!!) in the SPFL would lap up crossed balls at corners with ease, for clearances, knock downs or just goals! Any decent player that height is going to score goals in this league. I think I'm right in saying Stephen McManus scored 4 goals last season and was one of our top scorers Sutton aside, look how many goals Virgil van Dijk has scored for Celtic. Don't know much about the player but I assume if he's at Fulham he's probably good enough for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malky79 Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 I'd be happy to give the Reid, Ramsden, McManus, Hammell back four time to gel. I thought Ramsden was looking really good at full back last season but with money being tight he seems a decent enough ball playing defender to complement McManus who for me needs to really start showing a bit more. Experienced player but not yet to long in the tooth he has all the attributes and should be organising that back 4. Hammell has plenty experience and Reid has done little wrong since coming in. Leaving Kerr, Cummins and Angol all with a bit of first team experience as cover. All of them would give me a little bit of the fear if we had to rely on them for to long but despite some poor performances they all have some decent ones under their belts as well. Believe Cummins picked up an injury so a bit of a risk if we don't bring anyone in unless some of the U20's are showing real promise. Far more important is that we bring in another creative and/or pacy forward. I like Sutton and given chances he'll get goals but we seem to reliant on Law who is still very much unproven and Ainsworth who struggles to complete 90 minutes to create for us. Vigurs has shown some better stuff in the second half of last season but he as much as anyone would benefit from someone else more mobile moving defenders about ahead of him. We certainly not short in midfield, Vigurs, Lasley, Carswell, Lawson(still alive?), Law and Leitch and possibly Thomas whose legend grows despite lack of any serious action yet but certainly hope to see Leitch build on some promising showings last season and Thomas get a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ya Bezzer! Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 I think another midfielder, no matter how solid, would be a bad idea. If you want someone to play wide midfield who's not an out and out winger, Law could play either side, Vigurs can play left, and at a push Carswell and Lawson can play right midfield. If money is tight, it's better spent elsewhere... Vigurs is our best player in terms of technique and imagination but I don't think he's best served in McCall's very conservative 4-4-2. It's a bit like in chess putting your best piece on the edge of the board. It limits his effectiveness by giving him less room and options. I have nothing against 4-4-2, many tactical analysts think it has had its day and I disagree, but with out current squad I think we should at least be looking to change things around a bit. The formation of the World Cup was a 4-2-3-1. That formation I think would serve the squad we have better with one exception, Sutton's ability to play as a one up front. -------------TWARDZIK------------- REID---RAMSDEN-----McMANUS----HAMMELL -------CARSWELL----LASLEY---------- AINSWORTH-----VIGURS--------(attacking left side player) --------------SUTTON--------------- Lasley can be the runner in midfield, and if the full backs step up Vigurs has a lot of options. Carswell sits in front of the centre backs. I accept that Sutton hasn't done well up front alone but in this system wide players aren't really wingers, you should have one on the opposite side of playing coming in to play off the striker. Ojamaa and Anier would have been ideal. If we can replace Anier with a similar player I think that system could work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthefringes Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 I'd be happy to give the Reid, Ramsden, McManus, Hammell back four time to gel. I thought Ramsden was looking really good at full back last season but with money being tight he seems a decent enough ball playing defender to complement McManus who for me needs to really start showing a bit more. Experienced player but not yet to long in the tooth he has all the attributes and should be organising that back 4. Hammell has plenty experience and Reid has done little wrong since coming in. Leaving Kerr, Cummins and Angol all with a bit of first team experience as cover. All of them would give me a little bit of the fear if we had to rely on them for to long but despite some poor performances they all have some decent ones under their belts as well. Believe Cummins picked up an injury so a bit of a risk if we don't bring anyone in unless some of the U20's are showing real promise. Far more important is that we bring in another creative and/or pacy forward. I like Sutton and given chances he'll get goals but we seem to reliant on Law who is still very much unproven and Ainsworth who struggles to complete 90 minutes to create for us. Vigurs has shown some better stuff in the second half of last season but he as much as anyone would benefit from someone else more mobile moving defenders about ahead of him. We certainly not short in midfield, Vigurs, Lasley, Carswell, Lawson(still alive?), Law and Leitch and possibly Thomas whose legend grows despite lack of any serious action yet but certainly hope to see Leitch build on some promising showings last season and Thomas get a chance. Can have as much time to gel as they want... away from first team duties. Hutchison simply has to be replaced, a blind man running for his life can see that on the evidence of the games both non & competitive so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East Stand Well Boy Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 I'd start Erwin left wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Can have as much time to gel as they want... away from first team duties. Hutchison simply has to be replaced, a blind man running for his life can see that on the evidence of the games both non & competitive so far. To be fair, defence has been our weakness the last couple of seasons even with Hutch in the middle. Of course, other factors play in to that, but for some reason we continue to struggle as a unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthefringes Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 To be fair, defence has been our weakness the last couple of seasons even with Hutch in the middle. Of course, other factors play in to that, but for some reason we continue to struggle as a unit. Not discounting that, was thinking more of the 'pace' element. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yassin Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Hopefully we don't replace Hutchinson's several game costing mistakes a season as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmfc Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Darren Barr is training with us. Turned down Partick i believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvinBragg Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Darren Barr is training with us. Turned down Partick i believe. A McCall signing if ever there was one. Versatile free agent. Tim Clancy, Simon Ramsden, Craig Reid? Still think striker should be the priority... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Are we trialling that striker from Nottingham this weekend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malky79 Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Can have as much time to gel as they want... away from first team duties. Hutchison simply has to be replaced, a blind man running for his life can see that on the evidence of the games both non & competitive so far. I have to hold my hands up and admit I've only seen highlights thus far. Just because you have 4 competant individual defenders doesn't always equate to a solid back line but they should with a few games together get better, add in some protection from players in front and eh a reasonably safe pair of hands behind them and they should be able to do the job. I'd suggest the latter two criteria might be the bigger issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Darren Barr is not what we need next to McManus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ya Bezzer! Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 On the Dan Burn topic, I see Fulham have just signed a new centre half. So perhaps he will be going out on loan although whether it will be to us is another question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siebsbarmyarmy Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 From Dan Burn to Darren Barr.... Deary fucking me.... Barr is rotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Darren Barr is not what we need next to McManus. Odd, as he doesn't seem to tick any of the boxes. Maybe we've just offered him training facilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 See when you set up a loan deal for someone from a much bigger team in FM, and then it comes back in the next news update saying 'player has no intention of going on loan to Motherwell' - Dan Burn, I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Maybe I'm wrong but if Divock Origi was a Motherwell player, he wouldn't even have started a game, never mind been to a World Cup and signed to Liverpool for £10million at 18. :lol: Aye. Okay doke. If we had an international class 18 year old on the books, he'd be sitting on the bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siebsbarmyarmy Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 :lol: Aye. Okay doke. If we had an international class 18 year old on the books, he'd be sitting on the bench. TBH I see where Ya Bezzer is coming from. SMc is the type of manager who would rather persevere with an out of form Sutton than play a promising young striker. I couldn't see him dropping Sutts for say Erwin. In your Opinion Graeme do you think if John Soutter, Ryan Gauld or the lad Robertson had been Motherwell players they would have played as often last year?. I genuinely don't. At the start of last year it was clear SMc didn't have the faith to play Carswell as he signed Lawson for the exact same role. Why?? We had no need of Lawson as Carsy had shown he was able. He got his chance thru injury and didn't leave the team! Lawson signing has proven absolutely pointless! I always hark back to Mark Reynolds scenario, he was only given a chance due to terrible injuries and was the 6th choice as centre half. Got his chance and never looked back. You don't know if youngsters are good enough until they are given a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEWELL Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Darren Barr is crap! <_> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 TBH I see where Ya Bezzer is coming from. SMc is the type of manager who would rather persevere with an out of form Sutton than play a promising young striker. I couldn't see him dropping Sutts for say Erwin. In your Opinion Graeme do you think if John Soutter, Ryan Gauld or the lad Robertson had been Motherwell players they would have played as often last year?. I genuinely don't. At the start of last year it was clear SMc didn't have the faith to play Carswell as he signed Lawson for the exact same role. Why?? We had no need of Lawson as Carsy had shown he was able. He got his chance thru injury and didn't leave the team! Lawson signing has proven absolutely pointless! I always hark back to Mark Reynolds scenario, he was only given a chance due to terrible injuries and was the 6th choice as centre half. Got his chance and never looked back. You don't know if youngsters are good enough until they are given a shot. There's probably an element of truth in what you're saying, but there's that, and there's rampant hyperbole claiming we'd stick an top quality young player on the bench. I think McCall would've used Souttar and Gauld in much the same way that McNamara has. Souttar got his chance due to injury (much the same as Reynolds) and made the best of it. Gauld is a top, top talent, and at a level that none of our young players appear to be. Robertson as well probably falls into that category. Given his energy and ability, I can't imagine him not being seen regularly. The Lawson signing is a weird one, I'd kind of presumed that he'd intended to go with three in midfield, or, y'know, rotate. I don't think that was because he didn't have faith in Carswell, but more that we had two central midfielders at the time. I seem to remember McCall saying not long after he arrived that he thought Carswell had everything he'd want in a player, or something similar. We've seen Moore, Carswell, Kerr, Angol and Leitch fairly regularly. All the chat was that we were looking at giving Erwin his chance last year before his injury. We've played two proper games this season and we've seen Erwin play already, and Thomas in the friendlies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Never been convinced that Lawson was a McCall signing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ya Bezzer! Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Never been convinced that Lawson was a McCall signing. Who's signing was it then? Not like we've got a Director of Football or tyrannical chairman type figure. Lawson doesn't really fit into our system but I don't see who else would have made a player signing other than McCall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Never been convinced that Lawson was a McCall signing. I've always thought that Lawson was brought in with the idea of moving to a much more possession based game. The games we went out in Europe the year before (Pana & Levante), despite all our attacking ability, we were shown up as being unable to hold the ball. The first game of the season against Hibs we kept the ball forever, with Hibs barely getting a touch for ten/fifteen minutes at a time. Ultimately though, we looked nice on the ball, but absolutely toothless going forward. We changed and went more direct with Anier and Sutton, and never really went back to it. In that kind of system, I think Lawson would've thrived, but in the more direct system, he struggles, so will always be a square peg in a round hole, there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siebsbarmyarmy Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 That's where we differ, I genuinely couldn't see SMc giving a 16yr old a game ahead of Ramsden or McManus like Utd did with Souttar over Dillon etc or say if we had Robertson giving him a shot ahead Hammell. Erwin looked really decent in the first leg but didn't get a sniff in the second leg when really we needed that extra attacking impetus. Thomas got a shot in a friendly yes but not a sniff either game but instead Kerr the flying winger was introduced twice!! McCall will play youngsters but only if he really has too with squad restrictions, injuries etc. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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