Jump to content

Former Motherwell Fc Players Thread


Andy_P
 Share

Recommended Posts

On 8/14/2020 at 8:09 AM, Stu92 said:

Saw on Twitter earlier in the week that Steven Saunders is moving into a career in insurance & mortgages this week. Always liked him as a player, his career was definitely impacted by injuries.

And now he is unretiring to play for non-league side, Gartcairn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Decent write up in the Athletic about Stuart McKinstry:

 

Quote

Stuart McKinstry’s days off at Leeds United are spent on the road with his father, driving home to the west coast of Scotland. They stay for the night before making the return journey, getting McKinstry back to Thorp Arch for training.

Leeds took the boy out of Motherwell when they signed McKinstry but they had no chance of taking Motherwell out of the boy. He was 16 months old when his family took him to his first game at Fir Park, sorting out his allegiance before Rangers or Celtic could get their hooks into him.

He was a mascot, a youth-team player and very nearly a schoolboy debutant for the Scottish club after making the bench against Kilmarnock on Boxing Day in 2018. Motherwell suffered three injuries in the first half and manager Steve Robinson’s substitutions were used up in a flash. “I can’t pretend I wasn’t a bit gutted for him,” says his mother, Karen.

McKinstry, Leeds’ 17-year-old winger, comes from the tightest of families, so much so that when Leeds made him an offer to join them last summer, he toyed with the idea of saying no. Even when the club invited him down to Yorkshire, wowed him with a tour and gave him a shirt with his name on the back of it, McKinstry worried about leaving his parents and sister behind.

“I wanted him to go for it,” Karen says. “So I asked him if it would make a difference if his dad went with him. That was it. He said, ‘If dad comes with me, I’ll go tomorrow’.”

His father John, who was a Motherwell trainee in the 1980s, had a job in logistics north of the border. His company agreed he could work remotely but if they had refused his request to relocate, he would have quit and gone with his lad regardless. The two of them now live together in a flat in Wetherby, away from Karen and McKinstry’s sister Lauren.

“It can be a struggle,” Karen says, “but it’s what we had to do. When Stuart came back from Leeds after going down for the first time, I could see his wee brain going round and round. Seeing what was down there blew him away.”

During his visit, McKinstry took in an under-18s game against Everton. It did not leave him feeling out of his depth or inadequate. Leeds were confident he was more than up to playing for a leading academy in England — so confident they were willing to pay Motherwell £400,000 for him — but the decision was McKinstry’s. Neither he nor Leeds have looked back since he chose to take the plunge.

McKinstry was told to report to Thorp Arch on July 1 last summer but got a call soon after to tell him that Marcelo Bielsa wanted him there a week early to put him through the examination all academy players in the highest age groups are given by the Argentine manager.

Leeds’ head coach liked McKinstry’s style and told him to expect some time with the under-23s, a reassuring seal of approval. The winger showed quick feet, looked comfortable using either one, and had the pace and upper-body strength to beat a full-back and open up his flank. He played seven times for the under-23s last season, scored twice in a Premier League Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and his name has been mentioned positively in dispatches from Thorp Arch over the past 12 months.

What stood out more was his performance for Leeds Under-18s against Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup in February.

Leeds lost 1-0 after Henri Kumwenda’s red card in the second half but McKinstry shone while the game was 11-vs-11, cutting the opposition open with his speed of thought and balance, and showing a willingness to carry the ball. He gained some versatility at Motherwell, who liked to use him on the left wing and give him scope to cut inside onto his stronger right foot.

There were two moments in the space of six second-half minutes at Old Trafford where his trickery and confidence revealed itself.

Manchester United tried to double up on McKinstry (marked below in blue) with their left-sided players but he found a way to evade them on both occasions, skipping into space and delivering dangerous crosses into the box. Those attacks demonstrated an ability to work in tight spaces and fashion chances from difficult positions — the wing play Bielsa looks for at first-team level.

Leeds are nurturing their academy in a way where the potential in it is rife.

They have midfielder Nohan Kenneh, a supremely-gifted England Under-17 international, who turned professional in January. They have Charlie Cresswell, a tidy, composed centre-back who is the son of former Leeds striker Richard Cresswell. As a result of concerted recruitment this summer, they have former Fulham right-back Cody Drameh and a striker in Joe Gelhardt who already looks to coaches and senior players at Leeds like a steal from troubled Wigan Athletic at £700,000. It is a competitive and aspirational field, and one Bielsa watches with interest.

McKinstry is very much in the pack, a player Leeds always reference when you ask who might make the step up next. The club tied him to a new three-year contract on Sunday. He had his home comforts in Motherwell and plenty to cling onto when, as Karen jokes, “they came and took my boy away” but Leeds was a different world and too big a draw for him and his family to resist, even though it split them in two.

It was Motherwell chief executive Alan Burrows who said to McKinstry: “Go to Leeds and take a look. At least take a look and see what you think.”

He gave Leeds a chance and Leeds got their man.

 

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see it is being reported that Cedric Is off to WBA for a fee rumoured to be around £1m. 

Given that was around the same money we received for him I would assume we would be due very little from a sell on clause. In fact some clauses are a % over the original fee. So we could be due nada. 

Disappointing as it seems routine for Championship clubs to get millions for average players. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Welldaft Mk1 said:

I see it is being reported that Cedric Is off to WBA for a fee rumoured to be around £1m. 

Given that was around the same money we received for him I would assume we would be due very little from a sell on clause. In fact some clauses are a % over the original fee. So we could be due nada. 

Disappointing as it seems routine for Championship clubs to get millions for average players. 

Can see Wigan offering Lang instead of any sell on due to their situation (assuming the sell on is of any value).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cedric's move confirmed.

Despite all the speculation on here, I'd be surprised if we weren't getting our agreed cut of the fee. It's our bread and butter.

Shame DT didn't follow this route, but maybe he'll be inspired to move down south sooner rather than later, and for hefty sell-on fee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, weeyin said:

Cedric's move confirmed.

Despite all the speculation on here, I'd be surprised if we weren't getting our agreed cut of the fee. It's our bread and butter.

Shame DT didn't follow this route, but maybe he'll be inspired to move down south sooner rather than later, and for hefty sell-on fee.

No need to strike out the "sell on".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, weeyin said:

Shame DT didn't follow this route, but maybe he'll be inspired to move down south sooner rather than later, and for hefty sell-on fee.

Noticed this the other day and meant to share, your formatting reminded me. Doesn't confirm in so many words, but looks like there's a sell-on in there somewhere.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Edinburgh publication headline:

Former Motherwell defender Cedric Kipre seals move to English Premier League with West Brom

Glasgow publication headline:

Rangers kid Calvin Bassey congratulates ex-Motherwell man Cedric Kipre over Premier League move

 

  • Haha 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, weeyin said:

Edinburgh publication headline:

Former Motherwell defender Cedric Kipre seals move to English Premier League with West Brom

Glasgow publication headline:

Rangers kid Calvin Bassey congratulates ex-Motherwell man Cedric Kipre over Premier League move

 

Bassey was impressed with Kipre at Leicester the minute he walked through the joint!!.......ah'll get me coat

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/4/2020 at 2:20 PM, Stu92 said:

Noticed this the other day and meant to share, your formatting reminded me. Doesn't confirm in so many words, but looks like there's a sell-on in there somewhere.

 

Hopefully that satisfies a few.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, GrahamH said:

Mark Gillespie on the bench for Newcastle tonight. Hope he manages to get a few games this season.

I noticed that. I thought he'd be 3rd choice when he moved there, but he's only one injury away from an EPL start.

I imagine he'll get a run in one of the cups, which seems to be the norm these days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...