Motherwell V Partick Thistle 27/12/14

[Richie]

Vigurs seemed to have a fair limp on him when he was going to/from his seat in the main stand

[Ya Bezzer!]

Pretty brutal 2nd half but it was all about the 3 points again. Impressed by our improved defensive structure and our willingness to win the ball back high up the park.

 

I wonder if Vigurs was fit, would he replace Law in behind Sutton? We certainty need someone pulling the strings so that Ojamaa and Ainsworth don't need to drop so deep for the ball.

 

Disappointed for Lee Erwin, he's no exactly covered himself in glory with his recent performances off the bench but there is a good raw player there that probably needs an experienced head beside him.

 

We were definitely pressing the opposition much higher up the pitch which was pretty successful for us. Contrast with the Celtic match where time and time again we allowed Ambrose and van Dijk to bring the ball out from the back. Unfortunately in the second half we just stopped doing that. I'm sure the manager will have pointed that out.

 

Law has been a lot better in recent matches but for me he lacks the level of technique you need to play at a higher level.

 

Erwin has been poor lately. With striker sometimes they just need a goal and they find their confidence again but he's not going to get many better chances than he had today.

[StipeIsGod]

The useless cunt went off injured against County...so I'm assuming he is still injured unless Barraclough has already figured out that he is hopeless

 

Yep. Second highest assists provided in the season where we finished second. Useless and hopeless cunt, so he is. Jesus fuck...

[smiddy]

yip Erwin is a big raw boy with potential !!! but he should be scoring chances like that in hiz sleep . but one day ,,, one day he WILL come good :thumbup: :thumbup:

[David]

From what I've seen (which isn't much, granted) Erwin looks as though he has the makings of a decent player. He just needs time to find his feet.

[weeyin]

Added to which he couldn't score a slate!

 

That's the kind of support we need to give our youngsters.

[steelboy]

Criticising Erwin is out of order. Every time he comes on he shows flashes of potential, last week he put a great ball into Sutton, this week he worked himself into a 1 on 1. Even if things aren't ending up in goals for him he's troubling opposition defences and when he has more appearances through the middle he'll improve.

 

The second half performance overall was an absolute shocker. It was similar to the Dundee United cup game in that we ran out of steam near the end of the first half but Thistle didn't have the quality to punish us. If we can get a player in this window it has to be a centre mid to play beside Keith (who is looking a lot fitter than he was earlier in the season). The only real positive from today was the dedication of the defending in the second half, the starting back 4, Kerr, Lasley and Ramsden didn't shirk anything and even Lionel made an effort.

 

The downsides today were leaving O'Brien on when he was concussed which is a poor show, he was in a bad place when he got subbed off. Ojamaa was clearly in the huff about something as well.

[joe90]

Lee Erwin has shown more in a few sub appearances than Bob McHugh has shown in 2 year.

[Yassin]

Lee Erwin has shown more in a few sub appearances than Bob McHugh has shown in 2 year.

I'm not sure why Mchugh still sticks around tbh. I'm sure he could make a pretty good career poaching in the lower leagues. I've always felt there is some sort of untapped skill in him.

 

 

 

[steelboy]

I'm not sure why Mchugh still sticks around tbh. I'm sure he could make a pretty good career poaching in the lower leagues. I've always felt there is some sort of untapped skill in him.

 

 

 

 

He's here because he's making good money.

 

He's been ruined by too many friendlies and reserve/U20 games imo.

[stuwell]

Well done to the team. In the first half the they were better than I have seen them this season, playing with the confidence and belief they did last season and I think they showed in the first half that they are a better team who deserve to be in the top half of the league.

 

We could have been three up by half time but then - for some unknown reason - they then came out the second half and it appeared that all their self doubting and lack of confidence had returned. Thankfully they held out, stopping Partick from making any real chances and claimed three hard earned.

 

Hopefully they can continue this next week as I believe other teams may have been playing better than we have been but that doesn't mean they have players better than ours.

 

'mon the 'Well

 

 

 

 

 

[Andy_P]

Another step along the road to recovery.

 

Actually quite akin to a number of games from last season where we got in front, seemed to stop playing, found ourselves having to negotiate quite a bit of pressure but came through it and got the points.

 

The disappearance in the second half was a bit of a worry. I thought we'd just about deserved our lead in the first half but there was no question it was all Thistle in the second.

 

But if you want to accentuate the positives you could justifiably argue that when we did go forward we were much more dangerous than Thistle and that for the tonnes of possession that they have, Twardzik didn't really have much to do at all.

 

So there are definite things to build upon.

 

We viewed the Ross County, St Mirren, Thistle and Accies games as very important for getting back on track. If after Hamilton on Wednesday we've managed to remain undefeated in all four of them, then in the current context of the season that will have been a very respectable few weeks for us.

 

 

 

 

 

[Yassin]

He's here because he's making good money.

 

He's been ruined by too many friendlies and reserve/U20 games imo.

You'd think he'd get about the same as a key player for, say, Alloa or Dunfermline as he does for warming our bench?

[rednaz]

Good first half, we fairly lost the head in the second.

 

Not a fan of the Ramsden/Lasley midfield pairing. Think we need either Vigurs or Lawson in there besides one of them with a better range of passing to control the pace of the game.

 

Lee Erwin has all the raw physical attributes that should tear this league apart but the boy is thick as fuck, his positional awareness is just bizzare at times.

 

Why do we hate Christie Elliot again?

 

What an absolute poor comment regards to" lee Erwin being thick as fuck' tell me please how his positional wareness is bizarre?

[Well 4 Europe]

I think everyone recognizes Erwin's clearly shown a fair bit of raw potential and has made a difference at times coming on this season. However today was not one of his better games. He put himself about but struggled to get a hold of the ball and when he was put clean through on goal he looked a bag of nerves. To me he never looked like scoring and his effort that trundled past the post was so bad it was almost funny. His day was summed up when he inadvertently blocked Ainsworth's through ball to Ojamaa near the end with the ball smacking off his back.

 

Just one of those day for the lad and he looked to be lacking a bit of confidence, missing chances like today and the header against Celtic are hardly going to have done much to improve that. However you have to give the boy credit, he doesn't hide and keeps getting himself into good positions to get these chances so he should take some confidence from that. He always shows flashes of real potential, even today the near the end when he plucked a ball out the sky with a superb first touch before driving past a few players to the corner and winning a free kick near the end. Anyway given we have 7 games in January I'm sure he'll have plenty more opportunities to put those misses behind him and get himself the goal his efforts deserve.

 

On the game we were decent 1st half and could have been a few up. Ainsworth was superb in that 1st half, he even played the full 90 mins and put in a decent shift for the team. Also thought Law put in another decent shift, not flashy or anything but you can see why managers keep picking him as he seems to do what they ask of him with minimal fuss. Agree that Ojamaa was out of sorts, might be in part due to him being shunted out onto the left and struggling to get into the game. Came onto a bit of a game in the last 10 when he went through the middle and was unlucky not to score.

 

2nd half was poor to watch, penned in and we really struggled to get a hold of the ball to get Ainsworth or Ojamaa into the game. However we all said when Baraclough was appointed it was results that mattered first and foremost and you can't ask for anymore than 6 points and 2 clean sheets. On that note I thought the back 4 played well as a unit, probably aided by the return of Hammell and by having two defensive minded players sitting in front of the back four protecting them. Did Twardzik even have to make a save?

 

Some definite positives, especially us looking a bit more solid and organized and working better as a unit. Good to see Baraclough saying that the 2nd half performance wasn't up to scratch though, I get the feeling he knows where we need to improve and slowly but surely he's going to get us where we need to be.

 

[Browni]

Highlightsnow up on

[Yassin]

What an absolute poor comment regards to" lee Erwin being thick as fuck' tell me please how his positional wareness is bizarre?

I meant in a "football brain " sense - I'm sure he's a delight off the pitch.

 

He has no awareness of who or what is happening around him when he plays. Twice we were on a break away today and he was taken completely surprise by Ainsworth trying to play him in. A few weeks ago he attempted of one of the most blatant and unnecessary dives I've ever seen.

[Well 4 Europe]

Highlightsnow up on

 

I might have been a bit harsh on Ojamaa actually. I didn't realize it at the game but watching that back you can't help but notice he's involved in just about every attack we have and most things went through him.

 

Also never really noticed at the time but his pass with the outside of his boot for Erwin's chance at the end was fucking superb.

[rednaz]

I think everyone recognizes Erwin's clearly shown a fair bit of raw potential and has made a difference at times coming on this season. However today was not one of his better games. He put himself about but struggled to get a hold of the ball and when he was put clean through on goal he looked a bag of nerves. To me he never looked like scoring and his effort that trundled past the post was so bad it was almost funny. His day was summed up when he inadvertently blocked Ainsworth's through ball to Ojamaa near the end with the ball smacking off his back.

 

Just one of those day for the lad and he looked to be lacking a bit of confidence, missing chances like today and the header against Celtic are hardly going to have done much to improve that. However you have to give the boy credit, he doesn't hide and keeps getting himself into good positions to get these chances so he should take some confidence from that. He always shows flashes of real potential, even today the near the end when he plucked a ball out the sky with a superb first touch before driving past a few players to the corner and winning a free kick near the end. Anyway given we have 7 games in January I'm sure he'll have plenty more opportunities to put those misses behind him and get himself the goal his efforts deserve.

 

On the game we were decent 1st half and could have been a few up. Ainsworth was superb in that 1st half, he even played the full 90 mins and put in a decent shift for the team. Also thought Law put in another decent shift, not flashy or anything but you can see why managers keep picking him as he seems to do what they ask of him with minimal fuss. Agree that Ojamaa was out of sorts, might be in part due to him being shunted out onto the left and struggling to get into the game. Came onto a bit of a game in the last 10 when he went through the middle and was unlucky not to score.

 

2nd half was poor to watch, penned in and we really struggled to get a hold of the ball to get Ainsworth or Ojamaa into the game. However we all said when Baraclough was appointed it was results that mattered first and foremost and you can't ask for anymore than 6 points and 2 clean sheets. On that note I thought the back 4 played well as a unit, probably aided by the return of Hammell and by having two defensive minded players sitting in front of the back four protecting them. Did Twardzik even have to make a save?

 

Some definite positives, especially us looking a bit more solid and organized and working better as a unit. Good to see Baraclough saying that the 2nd half performance wasn't up to scratch though, I get the feeling he knows where we need to improve and slowly but surely he's going to get us where we need to be.

 

Unlike others Lee has started two games this season up front, HIS NATURAL POSITION, whenever he has been instructed to come on more often he is coming on when the team is struggling and usually has been shifted to midfield. It actually amazes me on how a young player gets so much comment when for the previous 75 mins most of the team have been poor but that is maybe the current keyboard style via a forum.

[madscot]

Unlike others Lee has started two games this season up front, HIS NATURAL POSITION, whenever he has been instructed to come on more often he is coming on when the team is struggling and usually has been shifted to midfield. It actually amazes me on how a young player gets so much comment when for the previous 75 mins most of the team have been poor but that is maybe the current keyboard style via a forum.

 

Not current ,always has been on here ,fwiw I think Lee has the ability to go a lot further .

 

 

 

 

 

[Well 4 Europe]

Unlike others Lee has started two games this season up front, HIS NATURAL POSITION, whenever he has been instructed to come on more often he is coming on when the team is struggling and usually has been shifted to midfield. It actually amazes me on how a young player gets so much comment when for the previous 75 mins most of the team have been poor but that is maybe the current keyboard style via a forum.

 

FFS settle down, hardly have a bad thing to say about the lad. Folk were discussing Erwin and I gave my opinion on the boy and his performance today. It's kind of the whole point of the fucking forum. I also went on to discuss the rest of the game and how the rest of the team performed. In fact I think most of what I've said about Erwin on here has been almost entirely positive, however I felt today wasn't his best game that was all.

 

However in your defence given that 90% of your posts seem to involve Erwin I can only assume your his dad/brother/pal or something like that and are therefore probably wee bit touchy about any slight criticism he may receive.

[weeyin]

I'm not sure why Mchugh still sticks around tbh. I'm sure he could make a pretty good career poaching in the lower leagues. I've always felt there is some sort of untapped skill in him.

 

For a while he was scoring for fun in the U20s, but he's one of these guys who never quite seemed to bridge the gap to the first team.

[Ya Bezzer!]

Unlike others Lee has started two games this season up front, HIS NATURAL POSITION, whenever he has been instructed to come on more often he is coming on when the team is struggling and usually has been shifted to midfield. It actually amazes me on how a young player gets so much comment when for the previous 75 mins most of the team have been poor but that is maybe the current keyboard style via a forum.

 

When a striker misses a glaring chance it's going to be commented on so if Erwin has a future in the game he better get used to it because football isn't a game for the psychologically weak, especially the striker position where it is all about goals.

 

He also missed a sitter against Celtic and has made a fool of himself diving around in the box so he needs to pull his socks up and try and live up to his potential.

 

I'm all for youngsters getting their chance but when you are in with the big boys you have to take it on the chin just like everyone else.

 

Also we weren't poor for the previous 75 minutes, we played very well for 45 of them.

[Ya Bezzer!]

For a while he was scoring for fun in the U20s, but he's one of these guys who never quite seemed to bridge the gap to the first team.

 

Didn't exactly set the heather on fire at QoS. In fact they have a young striker, Gavin Reilly, coming through who they clearly though were better than our guy.

 

I've always felt a bit sorry for McHugh because he never really got a chance but all that time on the sidelines has not been good for his career in terms of progressing as a footballer.

[weeyin]

I'm all for youngsters getting their chance but when you are in with the big boys you have to take it on the chin just like everyone else.

 

Somewhat true, but there is a difference between what you should expect from a seasoned pro and what you should expect from a youngster in the early stages of his first team career.

 

If the fans want to see the boys given a chance (and I'm 100% behind that), then they need to be prepared for plenty of mistakes in the mix with the flashes of inspiration. Instilling an attitude of being afraid to make errors is not the way to develop players.