Former Motherwell Fc Players Thread

[weeyin]

12 hours ago, wellfan said:

Kettlewell and Caldwell have shown us that the limited budget line is a bit of a red herring. We can’t be skint at the same time as being able to build a squad as big as it currently is. I’m certainly not suggesting we’re flush enough to afford Campbell, but we’d be a helluva lot closer to affording quality players if we didn’t pad out the squad with a quantity of injury prone guff and gambles. 

The problem is we can't just splurge on one or two quality players, because we'd left with an even thinner squad that wouldn't make it through the first two weeks in December.

Let's not forget the big spenders like Dundee Utd - a club whose financial model people on here used to say we should follow - ran up millions in unsustainable debt and then got themselves relegated to the Championship and stayed there for a few years. If we did that, we'd probably die.

The reason we are a fan owned club is because Boyle, however well-intentioned, thought all you needed to do was splash out on those quality players and you'd have a better team. Adminsitration followed pretty quickly after that.

So any time a club our size decides to start splashing the cash around, that's the risk they are taking.

 

[wellfan]

2 hours ago, weeyin said:

The problem is we can't just splurge on one or two quality players, because we'd left with an even thinner squad that wouldn't make it through the first two weeks in December.

Let's not forget the big spenders like Dundee Utd - a club whose financial model people on here used to say we should follow - ran up millions in unsustainable debt and then got themselves relegated to the Championship and stayed there for a few years. If we did that, we'd probably die.

The reason we are a fan owned club is because Boyle, however well-intentioned, thought all you needed to do was splash out on those quality players and you'd have a better team. Adminsitration followed pretty quickly after that.

So any time a club our size decides to start splashing the cash around, that's the risk they are taking.

 

There's clearly a better balance to be struck between quality vs quantity at a club like Motherwell, and I don't think Kettlewell and Daws ever got that balance right. 

[wellsince75]

1 hour ago, wellfan said:

There's clearly a better balance to be struck between quality vs quantity at a club like Motherwell, and I don't think Kettlewell and Daws ever got that balance right. 

This is where my head is at and appreciate it’s not always simple as players can get injured etc.

weve signed +35 players in 2 years and currently have a first team squad of over 30 players yet many of the better players are legacy players or youngsters that have come through. 

Im onboard with needing a ceiling but spending the budget on say 20 players vs 30 would increase what we could afford .

There is a bit of me of course that’s just always annoyed that we can’t bring the likes of Campbell back to us , I do love when the quality ones come back . Once upon a time that was hammels , lasley and later in career the uncle Phil’s , faddy, pearsons  etc

Those days feel like a long time ago now .  It irks me that we’ve lost our ability to reattract

[wellfan]

"Callan Elliot spent a spell at Motherwell but admitted the weather had not suited him."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czx8pllvpv7o

I guess him being too afraid to remove his tracksuit is what led to him playing zero competitive minutes for Motherwell.

[MJC]

Twenty years to the day since we beat Hearts 3-2 in the LCSF at Easter Road. The celebrations when Marc Fitzpatrick scored the winner in the last minute of extra time will live forever. 

[santheman]

20 hours ago, wellfan said:

There's clearly a better balance to be struck between quality vs quantity at a club like Motherwell, and I don't think Kettlewell and Daws ever got that balance right. 

Bang on.

We bring in guys nearing the end of their careers with the problems that brings with wear and tear and injuries.

Guys from overseas with no experience of the Scottish game and who you havent seen in the flesh who take at least 6 months or longer to acclimatise to their new surroundings.

Random loan signings who sometimes work out and sometimes not.

I'd like to see us taking a more targeted approach instead of the scattergun one we have now.

In saying all that we're probably not alone and maybe its just testament to the lack of quality available on our budget.

[wellfan]

17 minutes ago, santheman said:

Random loan signings who sometimes work out and sometimes not.

Another point would be trying to not rely on loan players. It’s something I highlighted last season under Kettlewell. I think I was trying to make the point that loan players should be the exception and not the rule. Plus, I’d rather we didn’t spend our time and budget developing numerous other clubs’ players each season, only for them to bugger off and leave us back to square one, again. 

[Stuwell2]

9 minutes ago, wellfan said:

Another point would be trying to not rely on loan players. It’s something I highlighted last season under Kettlewell. I think I was trying to make the point that loan players should be the exception and not the rule. Plus, I’d rather we didn’t spend our time and budget developing numerous other clubs’ players each season, only for them to bugger off and leave us back to square one, again. 

Sadly, if you look at most teams in the SPLF, a few of their first team regulars - and possibly better players - are loan players due to the fact they’re cheaper options because their parent club pays a fair chunk of their wages. 
We’re not alone in using loan players but appear to get those that either don’t suit our style, aren’t ready for 1st team football, don’t have an interest in being here or just aren’t good enough. 

[wellfan]

1 minute ago, Stuwell2 said:

Sadly, if you look at most teams in the SPLF, a few of their first team regulars - and possibly better players - are loan players due to the fact they’re cheaper options because their parent club pays a fair chunk of their wages. 
We’re not alone in using loan players but appear to get those that either don’t suit our style, aren’t ready for 1st team football, don’t have an interest in being here or just aren’t good enough. 

My point wasn’t about stopping using loan players - as I see the value in the system - it was more about not relying on them and/or having 8 of them in at any one time. 

[fizoxy]

It's hard to look for any strategy in a season where at least 8 of our signings have been to cover for injuries, or to cover for the cover.  I don't believe we were going for quantity at the start of the season, but I'd rather we bring in loan players for cover than take on someone full time that could bleed into next seasons budget. We're in a good spot to clear out once this is done, and we aren't onn the hook for too much should the worst happen.

However, signing permacrocks is a bad idea in any situation.