St Johnston v Motherwell 13/05/2023

[ropy]

 

look at that zero goal difference

7		Motherwell	35	0	43

[ropy]

1 hour ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

I'd sell my soul to put the final nail in their coffin I detest Dundee Utd

I have had particular dislikes of Hearts and Aberdeen at different points and of course Rangers but Dundee United are just that team we beat in the cup final.

John Clark though?

[Well Well]

47 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Anyone know what happened to Max Johnston? Apparently he travelled in the team bus. 

TV Commentator at the game said he had a slight hamstring issue and SK decided not to risk him

[Spiderpig]

1 hour ago, joewarkfanclub said:

Not a vintage performance today, especially first half where we seemed totally incapable of finding each other with a pass. But is was still a very solid defensive performance and I never felt at any point that St Johnstone had us under any pressure. Kelly barely made a save all game and big Butcher was just immense.

Need to see KVVs disallowed goal again, looked pretty tight and they took an age again to confirm he was offside.

We were a little bit better on the ball second half with improved performances from Spittal and Mandron in particular. Much like last week we had the chances to have finished the game off long before we did, so it was a bit of a relief when Mandron scored a well deserved second.

Re who we want to see go up and down, I know a lot of us want to see the back of Killie and Livvy because of their plastic pitches, but was that really any better today? Bumpy, uneven, players slipping all over the place. Dont think Ive ever seen a decent game up there. 

Given Killie is 10 minutes from my house Id much rather see them stay up than St Johnstone!

 

Nah, killie need to go down to get rid of the shitey plastic pitches from the premiership, and next season hopefully it will be Livingston's turn.

[Prestwickwell]

😂I don’t really comment but chat about not wanting to qualify for Europe is embarrassing 

 

it’s basically the best you can hope for as a Motherwell fan 😂

[weeyin]

1 hour ago, ropy said:

I have had particular dislikes of Hearts and Aberdeen at different points and of course Rangers but Dundee United are just that team we beat in the cup final.

John Clark though?

I don't have a huge dislike of Utd, but Jim Goodwin was a thug on the field, so no sympathy for him.

Also Steven Fletcher's man-bun needs removed from the top flight.

[pretzel]

1 hour ago, weeyin said:

I don't have a huge dislike of Utd, but Jim Goodwin was a thug on the field, so no sympathy for him.

When he was interviewed after getting the Utd gig he mentioned another club in the Premiership had tried to get him, obviously it was us but he had made a comment something like that team was beyond saving.  I hope we get to inflict some misery upon him. 

[Kmcalpin]

An important 3 points in Perth yesterday. We're now mathematically safe and it was satisfying to pick up a win there after years of poor results. Over the piece we deserved the win, although credit to St Johnstone for working hard and partly nullifying us. We had dominance in terms of possession but we played what little football was on display and created the chances. They enjoyed the majority of possession but were toothless up front. Kelly had almost nothing to do.

We looked sluggish and jaded in the first 45 and sat off St Johnstone whilst they buzzed about the park and got wired in. Probably quite rightly, SK decided this was a day for the long ball. Total supposition on my part, but it seemed to me that SK judged before hand that we weren't able to compete with Saints in the engine room in the usual midfield grind in Perth. We certainly lacked energy, aggression, drive and composure in midfield. Whilst Saints worked damned hard, they failed to dent our defence, which was excellently marshalled by Butcher and Casey in the middle.  The second half, although not great, was definitely better and we created a few chances and could have scored a couple more. The long ball again worked well for us. Saints again huffed and puffed but ultimately did nothing.  My only concern was that we semed vulnerable on the flanks where were frequently caught 2 on 1. But who am I to criticise when SK produced the goods? 

Unfortunate that Johnston missed out, as we missed his attacking runs. SOD did ok defensively but I get the impression he's finished at this level. 

I thought the referee was very poor and inconsistent. Saints, as usual were streetwise and conned him a good few times. Fortunately his red card stayed in his pocket - you always have the fear about officials like him. He pulled us up twice in the first 10 minutes for stealing maybe 3/4 metres at free kicks but let worse offenders off for the remaining 80 odd. Some interesting VAR decisions.  KVV did the business again today at the second time of asking but overall looked a bit off peak fitness, as confirmed by SK. A soft penalty, but Saints have benefitted more than most against us from them in the past. It seems the Saints keeper was penalised, rightly, for being about 20/30 cms off his line when the kick was taken.

Overall a good day at the office.  

[Mio Krivokapic]

Kevin van Veen new club record holder for consecutive games scored in. Also new record holder in the "Premiership era" - 8 consecutive games scored in overtaking Morelos & David Clarkson 

[Spiderpig]

1 hour ago, Mio Krivokapic said:

Kevin van Veen new club record holder for consecutive games scored in. Also new record holder in the "Premiership era" - 8 consecutive games scored in overtaking Morelos & David Clarkson 

At the moment he's the joint premiership record holder with Craig Dargo for scoring in 8 consecutive games, so he needs another goal on Saturday against Ross County to stand alone.

[Mio Krivokapic]

Just now, Spiderpig said:

At the moment he's the joint premiership record holder with Craig Dargo for scoring in 8 consecutive games, so he needs another goal on Saturday against Ross County to stand alone.

Ah yes good point, I really should know better than use certain Scottish media outlets as a reference point 🤨

[Yorkyred]

15 hours ago, MJC said:

That’s one way to look at it. If we actually do financially benefit from playing in Europe that is. We as a club have been clear in the past that playing in Europe actually costs us more than it earns us.

The other way to look at it is avoiding embarrassments like Sligo and Stjarnan and no-show non-events like PAO and Levante is probably more beneficial to the team and the club as a whole. 
 

Obviously getting a glamour tie like Dortmund is different and more prestigious but on the whole Europe for us is just a level that is way beyond our reach.

I would imagine going out early does make the club little or indeed nothing. I guess the hope is if we have a manager that can put together a squad of players on a budget that are well organised we can do rather better and not just make some money out of it but actually raise the profile of the club. That in itself may be of more benefit over the longer period. 

[grumpy]

29 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

At the moment he's the joint premiership record holder with Craig Dargo for scoring in 8 consecutive games, so he needs another goal on Saturday against Ross County to stand alone.

 

25 minutes ago, Mio Krivokapic said:

Ah yes good point, I really should know better than use certain Scottish media outlets as a reference point 🤨

I think it is to do with the League being rebranded from the Premier League to the Premiership, hair splitting nonsense in other words. They are probably ignoring any records set in the old First division days too.

[twistandshout1983]

13 hours ago, Prestwickwell said:

😂I don’t really comment but chat about not wanting to qualify for Europe is embarrassing 

 

it’s basically the best you can hope for as a Motherwell fan 😂

I don’t think there is any Well fan on the planet who does not want European football , more a case of once we get there we do nothing , then we tend to have a poorer league season , 2008/9 2014/15  and 2020/21 are prime examples 

If I had a straight choice though of 3rd/4th place next year or win one of the two cups that is my personal preference, mainly because it has been so long since we have won one

Edited May 14, 2023 by twistandshout1983
.

[Prestwickwell]

The reality is we won’t win a cup next season though 

 

3 or 4th in the league isn’t unthinkable as everyone outwith the old firm is much of a muchness

 

at least in Europe for the 2 fixtures we get we’re playing against someone different rather than the monotony of playing the same teams year in year out

If we can play some good football, entertain the fans & provide value for money then that’s good enough for me 

 

[Mio Krivokapic]

2 hours ago, grumpy said:

 

I think it is to do with the League being rebranded from the Premier League to the Premiership, hair splitting nonsense in other words. They are probably ignoring any records set in the old First division days too.

I think the record is 14 consecutive games scored in, which has stood unsurprisingly from the 20's.

Yes agreed its the same with the premiership in England. It's as though football was invented in 1992

[steelboy]

2 hours ago, Yorkyred said:

I would imagine going out early does make the club little or indeed nothing. I guess the hope is if we have a manager that can put together a squad of players on a budget that are well organised we can do rather better and not just make some money out of it but actually raise the profile of the club. That in itself may be of more benefit over the longer period. 

Unsurprisingly that's not true. The club made roughly £900,000 from European football this year. 

That will be a good chunk of our turnover for 8 days work and a wee jaunt to Ireland. If we had approached it professionally we could have made a lot more. 

[twistandshout1983]

29 minutes ago, Prestwickwell said:

The reality is we won’t win a cup next season though 

 

3 or 4th in the league isn’t unthinkable as everyone outwith the old firm is much of a muchness

 

at least in Europe for the 2 fixtures we get we’re playing against someone different rather than the monotony of playing the same teams year in year out

If we can play some good football, entertain the fans & provide value for money then that’s good enough for me 

 

You are right in the sense we won’t. 

On the other hand Killie , St Johnstone , St Mirren , Ross County and Inverness fans would have been thinking the same and have all done so in last 10/11 years

Anyway I am off to enjoy the rest of the weekend and a 2-0 victory for the mighty Well 

[texanwellfan]

I think, if we all want to finish as high up the league as possible, then indirectly we are hoping for European football. I can understand the reluctance though, as someone else mentioned, our poor performances have been a real let down over recent years. However, I’m still ever the optimist, hoping that we can maybe one year play well enough and get luck of the draw to make it to group stages or at least get drawn against a “glamour” team. Of course winning the Scottish cup would also get us into Europe. I still have yet to see us play in Europe so I am definitely hoping we get European football….. and soon lol. 

[weeyin]

49 minutes ago, texanwellfan said:

I can understand the reluctance though, as someone else mentioned, our poor performances have been a real let down over recent years.

As opposed to the let downs from our poor performances in the League Cup?

[MJC]

17 hours ago, Prestwickwell said:

😂I don’t really comment but chat about not wanting to qualify for Europe is embarrassing 

 

it’s basically the best you can hope for as a Motherwell fan 😂

Completely disagree that qualifying for Europe is the best we can hope for. Winning one of the Cups is the ultimate achievement for us and would trump any European qualification.

Obviously winning the Scottish Cup would get us into Europe, as would finishing 3rd, but I would see the European qualification in that regard as just another added bonus to the main event. If we’ve had a great season in the league like we did in 07/08 or in 94/95, played great football and finished high up in the table then that would be the enjoyable and satisfying part of it, not so much playing a Euro qualifier the following July/August.

On the other hand when we sneak into Europe like we did last season having had an absolutely dismal second half of the season or when the season is abandoned due to covid then it is less enjoyable and that devalues the European spot even more for me.

[SteelmaninOZ]

Another happy Well fan in Perth.

 

[joewarkfanclub]

The Europe debate is a bit pointless.

Its never an either or. You get European football from having had a successful league campaign or from winning a cup.

Both avenues raise the clubs profile and finances and allow us to sign better players. Neither can be sniffed at.

The issue we have had in the past is that we have not capitalised on the step forward. But the more experience of these situations you get, the better decisions you can make going forward.

As for the finance issue. That was only a problem a few years ago when we ended up having to travel to Krasnodar when the UEFA prize money at that stage didnt match the travel costs. UEFA have since upped the money for earlier rounds and regionalised the draw to take account of this. Partly why we have drawn so many Irish teams lately.

Anyway, we didnt get Europe this season, so I now look forward to a strong League Cup campaign and the road to Hampden!

[dennyc]

3 hours ago, steelboy said:

Unsurprisingly that's not true. The club made roughly £900,000 from European football this year. 

That will be a good chunk of our turnover for 8 days work and a wee jaunt to Ireland. If we had approached it professionally we could have made a lot more. 

Thanks for bringing some reality to the European finance discussion. Hearts made £5 Million last year after dropping into the Conference Group stages following a loss in the Europa Cup at the first hurdle. And we made £450k as a direct result of qualifying at all. I'm also sure the £650k pay out Dundee Utd received for qualifying helped to lighten the embarrassment of losing 7-0 in the Netherlands.

And that guaranteed £5m or so for finishing third without having to win any meaningful game once in Europe is why they sacked Nielson after a string of terrible results allowed Aberdeen to overtake them in the League..

So anyone saying we lose money by qualifying for Europe is talking nonsense. That might have been the case years ago. But not now,

The embarrassment we endure on occasion is another matter.

 

[texanwellfan]

54 minutes ago, weeyin said:

As opposed to the let downs from our poor performances in the League Cup?

Yes.  Let downs on a different level.