Coatsy Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 Not fussed about keeping any of our current squad they can all go and be replaced. Carson and Morrison contracted till 2022 Grimshaw, Lamie, Carrol and McGinlay under Contract till 2022. I suspect Grimshaw and McGinlay will be released O'Hara, Mcguire, Donnelly are the only contracted midfielders. Not convinced O'Hara or Donnelly will be here next year Lawless and Watt are the only contracted forwards. Would not be surprised to see us try and keep Cole. So there is plenty of scope to bring in a new team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizoxy Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 Just the usual PSA that contracted players would need to be paid off in order to leave the club, because they have a contract and they're not going to give up their income for our benefit. If we want to release these players for being shite I doubt they'll find better wages elsewhere, due to them being shite, and as such it's going to take a chunk of money to entice them to leave. I think our best option in that regard is to help them find another club, which may be difficult due to them being shite and all. Loans might be an option. We also need backups, as this season has shown, so I'd be reluctant to let the likes of grimshaw and mcginley go. Even if we keep the contracted guys, we are still in a decent position with most of our worst players being the ones that are going, and some of our biggest contracts too. There should be some scope for Alexander to shape the squad to his liking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 While it takes a few windows for a new manager to completely shape a team the way he wants it, I get the feeling Alexander will be pretty ruthless in the summer to get what he wants as his foundation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkyred Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 Given his experience down south I take it we can expect another crop of lower league, English based players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkySuperSub Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 18 hours ago, wellsince75 said: I'm already bored of listening to GA and his interviews. He doesn't strike me as someone I'd want to play for. That comment sounds like the earliest ever "Manager Out" thread festering...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllyMax Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 5 hours ago, KirkySuperSub said: That comment sounds like the earliest ever "Manager Out" thread festering...... Canny believe that thread didn't appear three weeks ago LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted March 27, 2021 Report Share Posted March 27, 2021 On 3/21/2021 at 2:36 PM, wellsince75 said: Gut feel is there's something very wrong at the club, which goes beyond poor signings. To sum up top players not playing, lack of comms re injuries, mystery illnesses ,several games where the teams get spanked by bottom of the league clubs. All signs of something being rotten, which is a million miles for how we've know the club to be run over the years Aren't those the very factors that define a team in the league position we're in though? The teams around us all have the same complaints. It's quite simple from what I can see. We go out most summers to try and sign the best players we can get on our extremely limited budget. Some seasons it works wonders and we hit gold with a few, and some seasons it doesn't. This past summer is a season that it hasn't. Although it's easy to look back and claim we knew all along it wasn't going to work when in fact most fans were happy that we were getting our business done early and were fairly optimistic. Alexander is tasked with the exact same job as Robinson, which is to try to sign some players who can do a turn for us and get us into the top six, while also looking for a few that either come from the youth setup or outside the club that we can maybe punt on for a profit down the line. We've had a good few players come through the youth setup the past number of years, but it's only natural that we're not going to churn out a Turnbull, Campbell or James Scott every year. There will be years where none of the youngsters really hit the heights. Alexander is tasked with keeping us up, then in the summer he's tasked with rebuilding the squad as best he can to accomplish a top six finish on an extremely limited budget. Same as Robinson before him, and same as the guy who comes after him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Dosser Posted March 27, 2021 Report Share Posted March 27, 2021 Listening just there to Hearts fans on Radio Shortbread wanting Neilson's head on a platter and criticising a directionless club with a squad which they feel will come straight back down next year, despite being out of sight in the championship. Complaints about a youth system which produces almost no prospects and a club without a clear structure. The point was also made how clubs like us, Livingston and others with a fraction of the Jam Tarts' budget survive in the top league and produce sellable assets. I'd rather be in our shoes than theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizzlyg Posted March 27, 2021 Report Share Posted March 27, 2021 Hearts fans want change at the top but she won't budge!! (I'm here all week) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Dosser Posted March 27, 2021 Report Share Posted March 27, 2021 4 minutes ago, grizzlyg said: Hearts fans want change at the top but she won't budge!! (I'm here all week) She'll be levein soon.... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middleeastdave Posted March 27, 2021 Report Share Posted March 27, 2021 28 minutes ago, grizzlyg said: Hearts fans want change at the top but she won't budge!! (I'm here all week) I listened to the Neilson interview and was very strange, he didn’t fill me with confidence listening to the interview and basically all he kept saying he just wanted Hearts to get over the line, I certainly wouldn’t like him to signing players for next season, actually the Hearts foundation guy said that he didn’t want Derek McInnes as the next Manager so maybe Robinson could be the ideal candidate if the get rid of Neilson!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiddy Posted March 27, 2021 Report Share Posted March 27, 2021 55 minutes ago, middleeastdave said: I listened to the Neilson interview and was very strange, he didn’t fill me with confidence listening to the interview and basically all he kept saying he just wanted Hearts to get over the line, I certainly wouldn’t like him to signing players for next season, actually the Hearts foundation guy said that he didn’t want Derek McInnes as the next Manager so maybe Robinson could be the ideal candidate if the get rid of Neilson!! some of them think !!!! alex neil would be intrested ,,, a return to this area for the frankie mcavoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelmaninOZ Posted April 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelmaninOZ Posted April 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2021 He says a lot more here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellsince75 Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 Jurys out on the gaffer for me. The relentless 4-3-3 approach makes us a sitting duck. StM ran us ragged and we're lucky not to be 2 down at half time yesterday. It took an injury to force a 4-4-2. Appreciate he's got us to a relative safe position but his lack of adaptive approach concerns me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmac Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 9 minutes ago, wellsince75 said: Jurys out on the gaffer for me. The relentless 4-3-3 approach makes us a sitting duck. StM ran us ragged and we're lucky not to be 2 down at half time yesterday. It took an injury to force a 4-4-2. Appreciate he's got us to a relative safe position but his lack of adaptive approach concerns me. I’m also not overly enamoured however the fact that he has managed to pull us to safety with 4 games to go, despite having one of, if not the, worst squads in the past 30 years is quite impressive. Yesterday, we were being dominated down our left - lawless isn’t a midfielder for a 3 and doesn’t complement long at all (or vice versa), but we changed it at half time. the trick now is to finish at high up the league as possible and get more prize money from a decent cup run; were not good enough to win it. This summer is the biggest transfer window I can remember as a Motherwell fan. We’ve got 9/10 players under contract, the majority of whom you would like to see as backup players (Lamie, Crawford, mugabe, lawless) at the most. That means Alexander has effectively got to go out and build a first 11 with a mixture of experienced pros and prospects. I get the feeling, this summer will be defining for the clubs next 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welldaft Mk1 Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 1 hour ago, wellsince75 said: Jurys out on the gaffer for me. The relentless 4-3-3 approach makes us a sitting duck. StM ran us ragged and we're lucky not to be 2 down at half time yesterday. It took an injury to force a 4-4-2. Appreciate he's got us to a relative safe position but his lack of adaptive approach concerns me. I think he has so far justified us appointing him in the 1st place. We are sitting in 5th place in the form table over the last 10 games. When he came in relegation was a real and present danger. It has all but been eliminated after yesterday. He also has had a terrible injury situation to contend with (initially at least), as well as key players who are and have been (apparently) throwing their toys out of the pram. I was not best pleased with our 1st half showing and we were fortunate to get 3 points. But having seen as dominate or be the better team in games this season and get NO points then I will not lose too much sleep. So far so good. His real test will come this summer when rebuilding the squad. What does worry me is signing of Crawford and Mugabi. As long as they are likely to be squad players then fine as back up. A solid 7 out of 10 so far. Get us to the Cup semi final and that becomes an 8 out of 10. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellwell91 Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 1 hour ago, wellsince75 said: Jurys out on the gaffer for me. The relentless 4-3-3 approach makes us a sitting duck. StM ran us ragged and we're lucky not to be 2 down at half time yesterday. It took an injury to force a 4-4-2. Appreciate he's got us to a relative safe position but his lack of adaptive approach concerns me. I think he will prove a good appointment in the long run. His priority was to keep us in the league … … not there yet but one more result will see us safe You need exceptional midfield players to play 4-3-3 unfortunately our midfield has been shite all season, unable to pass to our own players, constantly getting caught in possession and don’t track runners. Notice the difference in Long yesterday when we went to a 2 up top …… Think him and Cole could form a good striking partnership if they were given time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&A not the shop Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 46% win ratio so far (played 15, won 7, 3 draws, 5 losses). Its a good record, especially when its not his team and with the injuries at the start of his reign. I know you can use the old Ebbe Skohvdal statistics line but in a results business its a stretch to argue against him having done a good job. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkyred Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 54 minutes ago, Welldaft Mk1 said: I think he has so far justified us appointing him in the 1st place. We are sitting in 5th place in the form table over the last 10 games. When he came in relegation was a real and present danger. It has all but been eliminated after yesterday. He also has had a terrible injury situation to contend with (initially at least), as well as key players who are and have been (apparently) throwing their toys out of the pram. I was not best pleased with our 1st half showing and we were fortunate to get 3 points. But having seen as dominate or be the better team in games this season and get NO points then I will not lose too much sleep. So far so good. His real test will come this summer when rebuilding the squad. What does worry me is signing of Crawford and Mugabi. As long as they are likely to be squad players then fine as back up. A solid 7 out of 10 so far. Get us to the Cup semi final and that becomes an 8 out of 10. That’s pretty much my feelings. Personally I would not have retained either of those players although I get it’s a squad game. He has however stated he wants a smaller squad and as such that should mean better quality with less leeway for bad decisions when signing players, with the injuries this season we would have been in a dreadful position with a smaller group of players to choose from. Up to this point he’s done exactly what he was signed to do, keep us in the division. He’s not however always got things right and the squad he inherited is better than stated by many in my view, without the crippling injury list we would easily have made top six again and could still finish 7th. As always I’m a glass half full guy and I’m looking forward to what’s in store for next season, he will no doubt bring his own DNA to the table and that in itself is exciting, can’t wait to get back to Fir Park and chat with those around us again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoF Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 19 minutes ago, C&A not the shop said: 46% win ratio so far (played 15, won 7, 3 draws, 5 losses). Its a good record, especially when its not his team and with the injuries at the start of his reign. I know you can use the old Ebbe Skohvdal statistics line but in a results business its a stretch to argue against him having done a good job. Exactly. And behind those stats is a much improved defensive setup even when it's with makeshift personnel, and a striker who is now scoring goals (9 of Coles 10 goals this season have come since Alexander came in). Those changes don't happen by chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizzlyg Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 More or less agree with lot of comments, first priority was get us safe which just about secure. A lot of key players injured at different times also. Once he gets summer transfer window and clears out those that he wants rid of then next season I hope to see a vast improvement...COYW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbybingo Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 On paper there are a good few clubs with bigger supports, bigger budgets, better players, who should finish above us. But, as we learned this season, that means hee haw. Looking at their performances, given a half decent squad, a clued up manager and a break from injuries, there's no reason we shouldn't be competing with anyone outside the old firm. Avoiding relegation always makes it a relatively successful season, but a repeat next time round would have to be seen as a failure - unless Alexander starts building a side for further down the line, which we know won't happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropy Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 1 hour ago, CoF said: Exactly. And behind those stats is a much improved defensive setup even when it's with makeshift personnel, and a striker who is now scoring goals (9 of Coles 10 goals this season have come since Alexander came in). Those changes don't happen by chance. In general I agree but we have also lost 3s and 4s in games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirParkCornerExile Posted April 11, 2021 Report Share Posted April 11, 2021 3 hours ago, C&A not the shop said: 46% win ratio so far (played 15, won 7, 3 draws, 5 losses). Its a good record, especially when its not his team and with the injuries at the start of his reign. I know you can use the old Ebbe Skohvdal statistics line but in a results business its a stretch to argue against him having done a good job. It is indeed but I hope to god there is a big clear out we have so much absolute pish on our books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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