The Small-Medium Rebuild 2018'19

[superward]

Interesting story in the Sunday Post on Bigi and his mindset last year and changes this year,

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/bigirimana-is-now-out-to-reap-what-he-sows/

GAEL Bigirimana reckons his decision to stop viewing Motherwell as a stepping stone back to the big time could ironically be the very thing that gets him there.

The midfielder will travel to Ibrox this afternoon on the back of some impressive performances.

And he says that is down to a change in mindset about the Scottish game, and his place in it.

“For me, last season was quite tough,” he said.

“When I first came here, I wanted to get back to the English Premier League, and the Scottish league had seemed like a great platform.

“I had been at big clubs, like Newcastle United and Rangers – which I enjoyed even though I didn’t play – and wanted to get back up to the top.

“But that was completely the wrong attitude.

“For some people, it’s OK. But for me, it’s not right. I wouldn’t want people to treat me like that.

“So I had to examine myself and that was not easy.

“I wasn’t enjoying it because my mindset wasn’t right and at one point I even wanted to quit.”

But with the help of his wife, Bigirimana had a rethink and now he believes his wife’s outlook is the right one.

“I don’t view Motherwell as a stepping stone any longer,” he said.

“I play football to help my team-mates, to help the young boys, whoever I can help.

“For me, it doesn’t matter if fans have an opinion, team-mates have an opinion or if the staff might have an opinion about why I am here. I know the truth.

“We all hear people saying no player is bigger than the club and that is true.

“As long as people care about the club, it will flourish.

“I might not be here next year, or in two years, or I could be here for the rest of my career. But after I hang up my boots, the club will still be Motherwell.

“No matter where you are, if you play with the right motives, you reap what you sow.

“So, in my case, that could mean a move in the future.

“But, as I say, I am playing my football for the present, not for the future.”

[daver]

Also, Scott Mullen has an interview on the BBC website with Curtis Main who is waiting until January to consider contract options.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46160094

Motherwell striker Curtis Main says he will assess his future in January, despite his Fir Park contract having just eight months left to run.

Main signed from Portsmouth in January and has scored 12 goals in 36 games, including two in last season's Scottish Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen.

The Englishman's deal expires at the end of the campaign, but he is relaxed about the situation.

"I've got no reason why I wouldn't want to stay up here," he told BBC Scotland.

"I'm really settled off the field and I'm really enjoying it so we'll probably go along until January and the situation will be assessed then.

"We have to concentrate on getting things right on the pitch and the off-field stuff will be discussed at the relevant time."

Main made his senior debut with Darlington at the age of 15, and had spells with Middlesbrough and Doncaster Rovers.

His move to Motherwell at the start of the year brought him his first taste of football outside of England, and the striker insists he is loving life in Lanarkshire.

"I'm enjoying the whole world of Scottish football," he said. "It's just a different challenge compared to the rest of my career.

"Financially there's a huge gulf but it can make up for that in terms of exposure if you're performing well. It's a great platform to showcase what you're all about. That's definitely a plus.

"We had quite a few special moments that year in the cup and to walk out on our way to stay over before the cup final, it was brilliant to see all the fans and how much it means to people."

[Yoshi-1991]

Just now, daver said:

Also, Scott Mullen has an interview on the BBC website with Curtis Main who is waiting until January to consider contract options.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46160094

Hopefully we don't give him one to consider. 

[Gamst]

Paul dixon is being released by Grimsby as he's looking for a move closer to home in the SPFL,  any chance he would be a decent addition to ease our left back issues?

[Mintymac]

1 hour ago, Gamst said:

Paul dixon is being released by Grimsby as he's looking for a move closer to home in the SPFL,  any chance he would be a decent addition to ease our left back issues?

No not for me . We’ve got Adam Livingstone ready to make his mark . Dunne should hopefully be back soon too . We need goals imo not more defenders .

[weeyin]

And if Robinson wants to play a back 3 when Dunne is fit, there is no need for a left back.

[Toxteth O'Grady]

https://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/sport/football/motherwell-fc/keith-lasley-says-motherwell-are-hopeful-david-turnbull-will-sign-contract-extension-1-4833480

Keith Lasley says Motherwell are "hopeful" David Turnbull will sign contract extension

Motherwell assistant manager Keith Lasley has revealed that the club are “very hopeful” that midfield sensation David Turnbull will sign a contract to stay at Fir Park beyond this season. 

The 19-year-old Wishaw-born ace - whose existing deal expires in summer 2019 - has made a big impact early on in his senior career by scoring in the vital recent victories over St Mirren and Dundee.

And Lasley knows how important an acquisition Turnbull could be for the Steelmen’s continued success. 

“The club are speaking to David at the moment,” Lasley said.

“We are very hopeful. Obviously we have discussed the boy’s talent. 

“I know it’s an ongoing discussion at the moment and that’s all I can really say. 

“I think the boy loves it here, he enjoys his football here. 

“He knows he gets an opportunity here and he will continue to get that.

“We are still hopeful that something can be done. So watch this space.”

[mfc88]

Hmmm.... the tone of that article and continual use of the word "hopeful" doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.....

Really do hope we can tie him down for a while. The lad looks a player.

[Clackscat]

Hmmm.... the tone of that article and continual use of the word "hopeful" doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.....
Really do hope we can tie him down for a while. The lad looks a player.

I thought the exact same when I read it, we would get a decent dev fee, but I would rather have him for a couple of seasons, and a bigger transfer fee, still the lad looks as if he is sensible, so hopefully we are reading too much into it.

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

[steelboy]

1 hour ago, Clackscat said:

I thought the exact same when I read it, we would get a decent dev fee, but I would rather have him for a couple of seasons, and a bigger transfer fee, still the lad looks as if he is sensible, so hopefully we are reading too much into it.

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk
 

Lewis Morgan and Lewis Ferguson seem quite sensible as well.

[Yorkyred]

I’m confident he will sign, plenty of time to move on in a year or two.

[steelboy]

Hopefully but the reality of modern game is that young players have options now. We've seen it with Slane, Hall and Erwin and most other Scottish clubs have lost players as well.

[superward]

He'll sign ;-)

[Yorkyred]

On 11/11/2018 at 12:04 PM, superward said:

Interesting story in the Sunday Post on Bigi and his mindset last year and changes this year,

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/bigirimana-is-now-out-to-reap-what-he-sows/

GAEL Bigirimana reckons his decision to stop viewing Motherwell as a stepping stone back to the big time could ironically be the very thing that gets him there.

The midfielder will travel to Ibrox this afternoon on the back of some impressive performances.

And he says that is down to a change in mindset about the Scottish game, and his place in it.

“For me, last season was quite tough,” he said.

“When I first came here, I wanted to get back to the English Premier League, and the Scottish league had seemed like a great platform.

“I had been at big clubs, like Newcastle United and Rangers – which I enjoyed even though I didn’t play – and wanted to get back up to the top.

“But that was completely the wrong attitude.

“For some people, it’s OK. But for me, it’s not right. I wouldn’t want people to treat me like that.

“So I had to examine myself and that was not easy.

“I wasn’t enjoying it because my mindset wasn’t right and at one point I even wanted to quit.”

But with the help of his wife, Bigirimana had a rethink and now he believes his wife’s outlook is the right one.

“I don’t view Motherwell as a stepping stone any longer,” he said.

“I play football to help my team-mates, to help the young boys, whoever I can help.

“For me, it doesn’t matter if fans have an opinion, team-mates have an opinion or if the staff might have an opinion about why I am here. I know the truth.

“We all hear people saying no player is bigger than the club and that is true.

“As long as people care about the club, it will flourish.

“I might not be here next year, or in two years, or I could be here for the rest of my career. But after I hang up my boots, the club will still be Motherwell.

“No matter where you are, if you play with the right motives, you reap what you sow.

“So, in my case, that could mean a move in the future.

“But, as I say, I am playing my football for the present, not for the future.”

I think you could see his attitude was not right when he first joined us. Certainly a level of skill but when he did get his  chance he just drifted out of games far too often. He’s certainly improved on the whole but he’s never an English Premier league level player and never will be.

[superward]

Not sure the best place for this- seems closest. 

Interesting read,  nothing new or groundbreaking but highlights some up to date 'ball park' figures

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/competitions/premiership/revealed-extent-of-celtic-s-financial-dominance-over-scottish-football-rivals-1-4834962

The GSSS report said: "If the money alone talked, then the title would be Celtic’s with Rangers as runners-up ahead of Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibernian. Livingston, St Mirren and Motherwell would be scrapping it out to avoid the drop. But as has already been demonstrated in Scotland in 2018-19 so far, financial advantage can be wasted while good managers can turn lesser resources into a greater sum than their parts"

 

 

[David]

Those kinds of figures are exactly why I tend to get a little bit pissed off when our media describe Celtic getting hammered by Man City or a similar club as "an inevitability due to the huge gulf between the clubs, any result Celtic can get is a bonus," while us losing heavily to them is "the rest of Scottish football has to up its game and try to compete."

[Welldaft Mk1]

Also puts some perspective in our performance on Saturday v team with x4 salary 

in essence if we finish where we are in the league right now we are actually over performing v our salary position. Maybe a few fans would do well to remember that..........nah did not think so. 

If these are accurate it does beg the Q how Hamilton have a similar wage bill despite having a small fan base. Same goes for St Johnstone I guess. 

 

[weeyin]

5 hours ago, superward said:

Not sure the best place for this- seems closest. 

 

 

I put it in the SPFL thread yesterday, but looks like it's just me an Underboyleheating that read that 

You have to a wee bit careful with this report as it uses averages which can be massively skewed by one or two outliers at the top or bottom, and the fact that a lot of the info being used isn't from the clubs themselves, but it still gives a great high-level overview of the massive disparity in budgets. 

And according to the other figures in that thread, the team we beat on Saturday pays out £7.8 million in wages. 

 

 

[Spiderpig]

5 hours ago, weeyin said:

I put it in the SPFL thread yesterday, but looks like it's just me an Underboyleheating that read that 

You have to a wee bit careful with this report as it uses averages which can be massively skewed by one or two outliers at the top or bottom, and the fact that a lot of the info being used isn't from the clubs themselves, but it still gives a great high-level overview of the massive disparity in budgets. 

And according to the other figures in that thread, the team we beat on Saturday pays out £7.8 million in wages. 

 

 

The amount paid in wages is no guarantee of quality, look how many donkeys we have seen over the years getting big money at clubs despite being utter pish. 

[weeyin]

57 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

The amount paid in wages is no guarantee of quality, look how many donkeys we have seen over the years getting big money at clubs despite being utter pish. 

True. But in general, if you spend the most money across the board, the odd duffer doesn't affect the fact you'll be winning titles and trophies. It's the teams that end up 3rd or 4th on those lists that probably have the worst business model, laying out all that cash for a comparatively modest return on honours. In the EPL it makes some sense, as the financial rewards from TV and European qualification can be significant, but not so much in other leagues.

[superward]

7 hours ago, weeyin said:

I put it in the SPFL thread yesterday, but looks like it's just me an Underboyleheating that read that 

You have to a wee bit careful with this report as it uses averages which can be massively skewed by one or two outliers at the top or bottom, and the fact that a lot of the info being used isn't from the clubs themselves, but it still gives a great high-level overview of the massive disparity in budgets. 

And according to the other figures in that thread, the team we beat on Saturday pays out £7.8 million in wages. 

 

 

Sincerest apologies :-)

[Toxteth O'Grady]

The chart at the bottom of this article is interesting

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46358084

[Kmcalpin]

8 hours ago, Welldaft Mk1 said:

If these are accurate it does beg the Q how Hamilton have a similar wage bill despite having a small fan base. Same goes for St Johnstone I guess. 

 

Overall, the chart sems logical enough but like you Iain I'm puzzled by our relative position to Accies and St Johnstone.  Now average salaries can be misleading as Weeyin has pointed out.  From annual accounts it isn't possible to isolate playing from non playing staff.  Also you can have a small squad on a relatively higher average wage as opposed to a larger squad on a smaller average wage.  How did the authors decide to identify the exact composition of the  first team squads?

St Johnstone are a wee bit smaller than us as a club but have finished higher than us in the league so will have attracted higher sponsorship monies.  Also they have no debt to pay off.  Its also likely that players like Scougall and Watt are on relatively high salaries compared to the rest of their squad. Accies I just don't understand.  They are a far smaller club, have generally finished below us in the league but don't have any debt.  That said they are reported to have lost circa £800k in a banking scam and seemingly went almost bankrupt as a consequence but still their average wage increased? It just doesn't make sense.   

[Yorkyred]

Pretty much sums up the challenges any Motherwell manager faces when recruiting new players.

[weeyin]

I think Accies have been the beneficiaries of some excellent/clever/dodgy sponsorship deals. Weren't they getting something like 800k/year from the naming rights to their stand?

They also have a steady income from the offices they rent to the council. Not to mention the cash they pocketed when they sold their old ground and the add-ons from McCarthy and McArthur transfers.

And the relative wages will also be skewed by the fact that we ditched the big earning senior pros (Lasley, McManus, McDonald, Hammel, McFadden, Pearson, Ainsworth etc.) during the period in question - not to mention Moult, who was our highest earner.