2023/24 ins & outs discussion

[Great Balls of Shire]

55 minutes ago, Kris-A-Goalda said:

The response to us signing Theo Bair, on here and on socials has been embarrassing.

It's one thing discussing opinions about the signings we should expect the club to be making in here and conversing about the pros and cons, but to be actively slating the lad in a thread that the club has tagged him in is absolute sociopath, incel behaviour.

He might be good for us, he might be rotten for us, he might be somewhere in between. What's damn sure is that all the opinions expressed by the usual mouthpieces on here - before Bair has kicked a ball for us - will be doubled down on regardless. 

Absolute clowns.

I saw one comment from st j fan saying he was ok in friendlies, training etc when no crowd on his back....poor guy hasn't even kicked a ball yet and the usual boo boys are out, it doesn't look good for him, I'm afraid if he's a                 " confidence " player .

Suppose that's a big part of the game, the mental strength to ignore them.

He may well turn out to be poor but let's give the guy a game or two .

[MJC]

30 minutes ago, Mintymac said:

Here here . 
Absolute attention seeking rockets .

Good luck to the lad . Hope it goes well for him and us as that’s what we all want …….. correct ?
 

Absolutely. At the end of the day I and I’m sure the rest of the support want to see the players and the team doing well. 

[wellsince75]

Got to give all our players a good few months to see how they settle, generally you can see signs/glimpse of whether they can add value longer term.

I see it more of a dig at the manager than the player. SK turned the ship around, reduced the squad and pretty much walked on water. 

The questions raised are whether he can spot a player - that will be key to hist longevity, bring youth through our system +complement with some shrewd business in the windows.  All managers bring in some that don't make the grade, we need a couple of gems in this transfer window, perhaps we already have, time will tell. 

[joewarkfanclub]

I think the frustration for most is that SK has been very astute in managing players out the door who werent going to make the grade in the SPL and streamlining a somewhat bloated squad.

The expectation was that he would then replace them with players of a higher standard that would improve where we were last season (leaving KVV aside).

Most of the criticism/debate appears to be towards SK for his signings so far and concern that we may actually be going backwards instead of forwards and I think that is fair game on a football forum.

What I would say is that given where we are in the season and the various levels of fitness of the players, its far too early to be calling whether any of our players will be any good for us in the future.

Lets see where we are in September and make an assessment then.

 

[SteelmaninOZ]

The Bair facts will tell us. Good luck in the Claret and Amber 

[steeldrew]

46 minutes ago, SteelmaninOZ said:

The Bair facts will tell us. Good luck in the Claret and Amber 

Ah, so that's why he's been signed.

 

[dennyc]

1 hour ago, joewarkfanclub said:

I think the frustration for most is that SK has been very astute in managing players out the door who werent going to make the grade in the SPL and streamlining a somewhat bloated squad.

The expectation was that he would then replace them with players of a higher standard that would improve where we were last season (leaving KVV aside).

Most of the criticism/debate appears to be towards SK for his signings so far and concern that we may actually be going backwards instead of forwards and I think that is fair game on a football forum.

What I would say is that given where we are in the season and the various levels of fitness of the players, its far too early to be calling whether any of our players will be any good for us in the future.

Lets see where we are in September and make an assessment then.

 

Exactly this. Most folk that have concerns are questioning our recruitment policy, particularly with regard to signing strikers with an extremely poor scoring record throughout their career. Nobody realistically expects us to find a ready made replacement for KVV, but it is concerning that we have been unable to secure replacements with more encouraging track records to begin with. Does anybody disagree with that?

But there is a difference between pointing out factual records and hurling abuse in the direction of anyone who does not meet your expectations. One is fair game on a football forum and the other is out of order. Sadly there are a few on here who enjoy crossing that line.

Time will tell if our new strikers are up to the standard required, but I seriously doubt any Motherwell fan wants them to fail.. 

[fizoxy]

Sending abuse his way on Twitter is plain shitty behavior. As fans we're allowed to vent and complain all day long amongst ourselves, and we don't need to be rational about it or even civil in some cases, but to dish out abuse directly to the player is a whole new level of cuntishness.

Questioning our policy is valid. The idea of a head of recruitment should mean that we have consistency in approach while managers change, but we've just watched two managers overhaul the squad from the previous one, so we need to have a serious look at this. 

[grizzlyg]

I have been on quite a lot recently about this but the abuse dished out to our players in recent years has got worse with recent examples being SOD, Spittal, McGinley and poor Bair the next victim no doubt. And I didn't like him but some of the abuse aimed at Alexander was absolutely ridiculous.

Strange how fans react to separate players yet others are exempt.  Now I am ecstatic we have signed Casey but in past 2 games he has made a few errors and not a peep.  If that was SOD or Lamie or Bevis then the abuse would have been OTT.

Regardless of whether you rate a player or not , booing them is not going to help the situation or their confidence.  We all need to give as much support as we can and I hope Bair especially gets a lot of encouragement, slating him after 20 mins ain't going to help.

COYW

[Great Balls of Shire]

6 hours ago, yosemite sam said:

I think I would have taken Moult back rather than this guy from St Johnstone. I hope he proves us wrong, but I don't know how.

And if Moult got injured again, you can imagine this forum, got to trust mgr on this 

[santheman]

This is it.

I could understand if we had just avoided relegation by the skin of our teeth and struggled badly through our Viaplay group and failed to qualify, so to generate the level of abuse online I've seen in the last few days towards the manager board and certain players truly astounds me.

Debate, disagreement questioning decisions is fine but some of the stuff is way out of order.

Is it just a Motherwell thing?

[texanwellfan]

9 minutes ago, santheman said:

This is it.

I could understand if we had just avoided relegation by the skin of our teeth and struggled badly through our Viaplay group and failed to qualify, so to generate the level of abuse online I've seen in the last few days towards the manager board and certain players truly astounds me.

Debate, disagreement questioning decisions is fine but some of the stuff is way out of order.

Is it just a Motherwell thing?

I thinks it’s more of a social media thing where you are exposed to much more info than you were in the good a old days to where it was limited among your drinking buddies

[David]

16 hours ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

When we signed Casey from America he had done fuck all of note now he's the people's hero. We signed Tierney under the banner of one of the Irish Leagues best young prospects and he's rampantly average. We signed Stuart McKinstry and half our support were wetting themselves with excitement and he was bang average at best. We signed Moult and again half the fans were creaming their pants, he wasn't worth a fuck.

So the moral of all of this. Getting excited about a signing is pointless because they could turn out to be shite. Equally there is no point getting depressed as they could turn out to be decent.  

Nah, wait a minute. I understand that there are some on here who are looking to back a player we've signed, and that's commendable, but let's not resort to just making shit up.

Dan Casey signed for us from America and "had done fuck all of note"?

He had played nearly 100 games in the Irish league by the age of 23. In his second season, he was part of a team that finished 3rd in the league. He also represented Ireland at youth level.

I clearly remember when he was touted as a potential signing here, the overwhelming opinion was that he looked solid and had a lot of potential. 

While you're right, there is no point in getting overly excited or overly depressed, it's what we do. If every single signing was met with measured indifference until they had played 10 games, there'd be zero point in this forum. 

We come here to speculate, discuss, dissect, and deliberate. Especially in the summer when there's been next to no football.

15 hours ago, pretzel said:

We could probably all rhyme off examples of players that we might have thought would have done well and others that wouldn't. I remember signing Steven Craig from Falkirk who were playing in the First Division, a guy who wasn't playing regularly or scoring much but we signed him after he was let go, done us a turn and we were never in trouble during his stay. Plus the likes of Nick Blackman, tremendous for us and later in the same season not so much for Aberdeen. 

Kettlewell signed Ross Stewart for County, a guy who couldn't get a sniff in a poor St Mirren team and he developed alright.

But none of that changes the fact that us signing Theo Bair is a really strange piece of business. Look, I'm not one for criticising the players or manager. Sometimes to the extent that I get hit with the classic "happy clapper" tag, but this one particular signing makes absolutely zero sense to me.

This isn't a young guy who's shown potential but not had the chance to show it. He's someone who's actively accomplished nothing since he "burst onto the scene" and rattled in three goals in three years at Vancouver. 

Fans of every team he's ever played for will tell you that he's not a professional footballer at the level we're playing at. It's that simple.

Of course, I hope he somehow turns it around and shows that the past four years of his entire career have been one big underachievement and that he's able to do something he's never shown a hint of yet. 

Not least because we've handed him a two-year deal, which is even crazier. Unless he breaks the habit of a lifetime, we're going to be stuck with someone who simply isn't good enough.

14 hours ago, grizzlyg said:

Exactly, well said

"So Theo how was your first day?",  Ye it's been great, everyone has been so nice and wishing me all the best"

The lad deserves a chance and I mean about a dozen games, not a 20 minute audition when folk decide straight away about him.

I am willing this lad to do well as he will be wearing the claret and Amber and representing our great club.   COYW

Nah, he'll just be astounded that he hasn't had to drop down to the semi-pro game in the US or Canada. That call from his agent telling him that after St Johnstone, one of the worst teams in the division, finally terminated his deal has been followed by Motherwell wanting to give him a two-year contract, is probably the best call he's ever received.

And fair play to him. I hope his agent gets paid well because he's done some job.

[bobbybingo]

1 hour ago, David said:

Fans of every team he's ever played for will tell you that he's not a professional footballer at the level we're playing at. It's that simple.

What are the Hamarkameratene fans saying about him?

[David]

Just now, bobbybingo said:

What are the Hamarkameratene fans saying about him?

Bair er en av de verste spillerne vi noen gang har hatt. Han er dritt.

[weeyin]

1 hour ago, David said:

And fair play to him. I hope his agent gets paid well because he's done some job.

You think SK, a man whose livelihood and reputation depends on winning games, signed a player because his agent said he was good?

[MJC]

Seriously, can we stop the Bair/Bear references?

Rangers fans refer to themselves as ‘Bears’ and I don’t want us as a club to be associated with them in any way. It’s bad enough we’ve brought out a change kit with a diagonal amber band across the front without anyone making light of a player called Bair joining us.

Please, will someone think of the Green Brigade?

[grizzlyg]

Bair hasn't even played a game yet, can we give the lad a chance first?

[bobbybingo]

14 minutes ago, David said:

Bair er en av de verste spillerne vi noen gang har hatt. Han er dritt.

4 goals in 17 appearances makes him one of the worst players they've ever had?

You've actually found fans who are harder to please than our lot. Unless that quote came from the Norwegian Steelboy. 

[Coatsy]

So thats just us and St J that have not payed a transfer this window and St J have only signed two free's so far.

I guess were just broke and were working with our hands tied behind our backs hope the Kettle can produce another miracle

[santheman]

18 minutes ago, MJC said:

Seriously, can we stop the Bair/Bear references?

Rangers fans refer to themselves as ‘Bears’ and I don’t want us as a club to be associated with them in any way. It’s bad enough we’ve brought out a change kit with a diagonal amber band across the front without anyone making light of a player called Bair joining us.

Please, will someone think of the Green Brigade?

A wind up surely.

Seriously, what kind of thought process makes someone take a play on the name Bair and turn it in into some kind of sectarian bigot fest.

Next you'll be saying we shouldn't  be signing anyone called Tim or Billy🤔

[MJC]

12 minutes ago, santheman said:

A wind up surely.

Seriously, what kind of thought process makes someone take a play on the name Bair and turn it in into some kind of sectarian bigot fest.

Next you'll be saying we shouldn't  be signing anyone called Tim or Billy🤔

You don’t say?

I don’t know. I suppose the same type of thought process that makes someone look at the diagonal amber band on our new away top and associate it with some kind of sectarian bigot fest.

The only difference is that I am being sarcastic and deliberately mocking such types whereas they are being deadly serious. 
 

 

[Mad Dog]

39 minutes ago, santheman said:

A wind up surely.

Seriously, what kind of thought process makes someone take a play on the name Bair and turn it in into some kind of sectarian bigot fest.

Next you'll be saying we shouldn't  be signing anyone called Tim or Billy🤔

Can't imagine the talk on Sevco's social media when they signed a player named Sands.

[bobbybingo]

18 minutes ago, Mad Dog said:

Can't imagine the talk on Sevco's social media when they signed a player named Sands.

Is he a striker?

[SteelmaninOZ]

23 minutes ago, Mad Dog said:

Can't imagine the talk on Sevco's social media when they signed a player named Sands.

Bobby ? He was hungry to play 🤔