wellfan Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 2 hours ago, Lobey_Dosser said: As someone that has been a big supporter of Kettlewell, my patience is starting to wear a little thin over our summer recruitment. With the repeated narrative that we have the 10/11th lowest budget and that there is no room to carry passengers, it baffles me that we have signed two injury prone players, Nicholson and Callachan, in an area of the park that we needed reliable reinforcements. Not only that, we appear to have signed a number of players from outwith Scotland that despite being here for most of pre-season are still not to the level required to contribute. Of course, some of these players may come good in time, like Gent last year, but having lost Kelly, Gent, Spittal and Bair surely we had to be signing one or two more that had the profile and credentials of a Liam Gordon to hit the ground running. All parties deserve great credit for the Bair project but we are now going to have to needlessly spend a fair proportion of that income to get us back on an even keel. Buy cheap, buy twice, seems to be the Kettlewell way. It’s getting ridiculous now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stv Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 3 hours ago, wellfan said: Buy cheap, buy twice, seems to be the Kettlewell way. It’s getting ridiculous now. Buy cheap get a full medical room before the season has really started you mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfan Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 1 hour ago, stv said: Buy cheap get a full medical room before the season has really started you mean. @Lobey_Dosser pretty much nailed the situation above, so I'll try not to repeat it. Kettlewell can't preach poverty at the same time as having to hurriedly expand the squad beyond what was budgeted for in order to address the massive and partly avoidable injury list. He either starts to learn from his mistakes and spend wisely in terms of transfers or he should not get a fourth transfer window. However, this is always with the caveat that some injuries are just pure bad luck, but not all seem to be this time. Some of them appear to be down to taking a risk on older players with an injury history in key positions, again! Furthermore, him preaching the benefit of getting business done early to allow a settled squad to go to the summer camp and be blooded during the League Cup seems to have actually been of no benefit, as echoed above. Time will tell on some of the signings, but it's generally been a poor and predictable window, and it's not in the least bit surprising. I expect some rabbits to be pulled out of the hat in the coming weeks, which will unfortunately eat into the Bair money and increase the wage bill in the long run, but it has to be done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 15 minutes ago, wellfan said: @Lobey_Dosser pretty much nailed the situation above, so I'll try not to repeat it. Kettlewell can't preach poverty at the same time as having to hurriedly expand the squad beyond what was budgeted for in order to address the massive and partly avoidable injury list. He either starts to learn from his mistakes and spend wisely in terms of transfers or he should not get a fourth transfer window. However, this is always with the caveat that some injuries are just pure bad luck, but not all seem to be this time. Some of them appear to be down to taking a risk on older players with an injury history in key positions, again! Furthermore, him preaching the benefit of getting business done early to allow a settled squad to go to the summer camp and be blooded during the League Cup seems to have actually been of no benefit, as echoed above. Time will tell on some of the signings, but it's generally been a poor and predictable window, and it's not in the least bit surprising. I expect some rabbits to be pulled out of the hat in the coming weeks, which will unfortunately eat into the Bair money and increase the wage bill in the long run, but it has to be done. I'm always wary when we seem to get a lot of our business done early,it doesn't suggest we have beaten off other teams for signings but rather ending up with a lot of dross that nobody else wants,someone like callaghan is a prime example,his injury record aside he's just not very good,players like him are ten a penny for the level we play at.keeping the likes of odonnell and halliday set the tone,we badly needed a bit of pace and mobility but yet we have these two operating in key positions and offer nothing.its astonishing that we have spent a more than decent amount on the guy from oz but yet we look like a side that will struggle to create due to the limitations at wing back and no creative attacking midfielder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoBair14 Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 We should put a offer in for Campbell and he might consider coming to the well Worth a try considering Aberdeen and Hibs have put in offer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
well_said Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 15 minutes ago, TheoBair14 said: We should put a offer in for Campbell and he might consider coming to the well Worth a try considering Aberdeen and Hibs have put in offer Where has this been reported? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron_Mcd Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 7 minutes ago, well_said said: Where has this been reported? https://x.com/footyinsider247/status/1821498019478450355?t=wDHZj5YmctyXGIKW7HtQFw&s=19 Scott Burns from the Record saying he doesn't want a return to Scotland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropy Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 A year at Fir Park to get back up and running would be ideal for him. (And us.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoBair14 Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 2 hours ago, well_said said: Where has this been reported? https://t.co/2kqWZ7hj5F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 I hope he moves to a decent team in Europe and Motherwell receive a small slice of the transfer fee. I honestly think it's becoming a waste of time for young Scottish (and English) lads moving to premier league and championship clubs hoping to play regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelboy Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 We need at least 3 players in to start. Two centre mids and a striker. If we can get wingbacks then sign them as well. If Halliday or Davor are starting we are hobbled before the game even starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfan Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 12 minutes ago, steelboy said: We need at least 3 players in to start. Two centre mids and a striker. If we can get wingbacks then sign them as well. But with what budget? Kettlewell has already blown his load on a bunch of crocks. The club could double down here and end up with a bloated squad, a massive wage bill beyond our budget, and the cost of sacking the manger come mid-season when it all inevitably continues to go to shite after he's thrown more good money at more crocks. But I guess the club has no option but to back him further and hope it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelboy Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 12 minutes ago, wellfan said: But with what budget? There's no point in saving our money for the Championship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfan Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 4 minutes ago, steelboy said: There's no point in saving our money for the Championship. True, but my point was that I wouldn't trust him to spend it wisely, so we could end up there anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motherwellfc1991 Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 We have no midfielders who can win a tackle, we have no midfielders with any box to box energy , we have no midfielders with any height, we have no midfielders with any pace and we don’t have a number 10. We also have no width in our team full stop never mind any width with pace. Theres only one guy that can sign players and he’s built what looks like a very one dimensional, one trick pony squad that is going to struggle this season sadly. Can have as many unlucky injuries as we have but sadly no injuries wouldn’t change the above points Need to get some players in asap to improve us and give us options 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted August 10 Author Report Share Posted August 10 Every single club, bar maybe Celtic, will face an injury crisis this season. We're just experiencing ours now. I've seen a whole lot of people use this as an excuse to be critical of players who we have hardly even seen as yet. Ross Callachan, Filip Stuparevic, and John Koutroumbis have all been written off as "crocks" by some. No surprises that it's the usual crew, of course, but still. Those players will come back, and we can judge them then once we've seen them on the pitch. I think most of them have the potential to do well for us, so while things aren't great for now, I'm certainly not panicking. I saw someone elsewhere claim that today's game was a game where we "simply had to" get something from it. Two games into the season. Two. Let that sink in. This is a chance for some of the younger lads to step up and show that they're worth a place when others come back. Wilson, Ross, Ferrie and Wells all could get some opportunities to show what they can do, which will be interesting in itself. Can any of them establish themselves as first team regulars? I'm also keen to see how Oxborough, Gordon, Seddon, Sparrow, Stama, Balmer, Hegyi, Kaleta, and Robinson do over the coming weeks and months. Let's be honest, if we're two games deep into a brand new league season with a whole bunch of new players to watch and you're moaning already? Might be time to start going to the rugby or ice hockey instead. This is one of the most exciting times in the season. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewelllfan Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 We need another couple of players in either way. We're lacking a holding midfielder and a more creative one. Could probably do with a Wing-back either side as well with a bit of pace about them if we're not going to play with wingers. Personally I'd be signing 2 wingers to give us some flexibility and the option of a change of shape. Mckinstry is available thought he was good in his last spell for us before we changed formation. Squad was poorly built wither folk like it or not we've signed players who I'm struggling to see how they'll get minutes when others come back. The shape in my opinion is all wrong but we'll see what we can do and hope we've got enough in the squad plus whoever else comes in to keep us up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfan Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 6 minutes ago, David said: I've seen a whole lot of people use this as an excuse to be critical of players who we have hardly even seen as yet. Ross Callachan, Filip Stuparevic, and John Koutroumbis have all been written off as "crocks" by some. No surprises that it's the usual crew, of course, but still. Are these players and others unable to play due to injury or not? If so, they are the dictionary definition of crocked. Some were signed with a history of being crocked and some have become crocked for whatever reason (e.g bad luck, poor player management, chocolate legs, etc.). Calling them crocks does not mean they've been written off, as you say, it simply means they're currently unable to play and so are useless to us right now. Unfortunately for us, we have a lot of crocks in our squad, which is a great concern given we're only 2 games deep into the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizzlyg Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 I am also very fair and with regards to the new signings I certainly ain't judging them already, they need time to settle. I do have concerns about Callachan though, a year contract for a guy who has hardly kicked ball for a year, Kettlewell stupidly brings him on last week and he's now out for a few months. Slattery gets another year and he's out for a few months (sorry wellgirl), obika got a year contract with year option but instead of saying "Thanks Jon", he gets coaching contract cos heyyyy he's a nice guy. Kettlewell can't moan about budget as we have brought in 9 players but his training has to be questioned, I am sorry but it's too much a coincidence to be just unlucky. If Stama is out for long its an absolute farce. I know also Halliday gets terrible stick but if we had fully fit squad he wouldn't be starting every game. Like I say I try to be upbeat and positive without reaching happy clapper mode but Kettlewell needs a good next few months or I will be asking serious questions. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted August 10 Author Report Share Posted August 10 1 hour ago, grizzlyg said: I do have concerns about Callachan though, a year contract for a guy who has hardly kicked ball for a year, Kettlewell stupidly brings him on last week and he's now out for a few months. Kettlewell would have brought him on after receiving advice from the medical team that he was fit to play. It's not just a case of the player saying he feels okay and the manager chucking him on and seeing what happens. Same with Slattery. The medical staff would have looked at him and given the manager and the CEO an appraisal that would have been used to decide on signing him again or not. Personally, I wouldn't have signed him again, but I don't think the manager was told that Slattery or anyone else was an injury risk and just went ahead and pushed the move through. The same goes for every new signing we made. There will have been detailed medical reports poured over by the medical team, examinations carried out, all manner of tests and suchlike. All of that will have been taken into account before a contract is signed. As for the current lot of injuries, a lot of it does just come down to luck. There's a lot more goes into what players do on a daily basis these days. They don't just pull up in their Ford Cortina's, stub out a smoke, and wander in to kick the ball about and run laps for a few hours anymore. There's strength and conditioning, there's tactical work, and so on. I'd be very surprised if the relevant personnel at the club aren't looking into the injuries, what caused them, and why. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizzlyg Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 4 minutes ago, David said: Kettlewell would have brought him on after receiving advice from the medical team that he was fit to play. It's not just a case of the player saying he feels okay and the manager chucking him on and seeing what happens. Same with Slattery. The medical staff would have looked at him and given the manager and the CEO an appraisal that would have been used to decide on signing him again or not. Personally, I wouldn't have signed him again, but I don't think the manager was told that Slattery or anyone else was an injury risk and just went ahead and pushed the move through. The same goes for every new signing we made. There will have been detailed medical reports poured over by the medical team, examinations carried out, all manner of tests and suchlike. All of that will have been taken into account before a contract is signed. As for the current lot of injuries, a lot of it does just come down to luck. There's a lot more goes into what players do on a daily basis these days. They don't just pull up in their Ford Cortina's, stub out a smoke, and wander in to kick the ball about and run laps for a few hours anymore. There's strength and conditioning, there's tactical work, and so on. I'd be very surprised if the relevant personnel at the club aren't looking into the injuries, what caused them, and why. David.... I am not thick so certainly don't think players like you say pull up in Cortinas.....stub out cigarettes etc etc. I give very fair posts and always try to be positive. I don't believe for one minute we are signing injured players but something is not right when these guys are getting injured without even playing or just featuring for a few mins and pulling up. Yes bad luck can be a factor but with 8 injured? Paton...Blaney injuries were part and parcel and unfortunate but Slattery...Koutrombis...Callachan...Stuparevic....Stama all seem muscular. Now Kettlewell ain't a sports scientist but his fitness team must need seriously looked at. Again bud that is my opinion which I am entitled to. You certainly give your opinion plenty of times which I totally respect. That's why the forum is a good thing. COYW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 Slattery's was a knee injury rather than muscular so I'd put him in your 'part and parcel' category. I agree that the injuries to others were muscular and that must come down to strength training and conditioning. Were they ready to play? Have previous injuries not fully cleared up and / or weakened them long-term? It's not just the eight this year, we had a bad run of injuries last season too and maybe no-one or no one thing is to blame but it's enormously frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropy Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 2 hours ago, grizzlyg said: I am also very fair and with regards to the new signings I certainly ain't judging them already, they need time to settle. I do have concerns about Callachan though, a year contract for a guy who has hardly kicked ball for a year, Kettlewell stupidly brings him on last week and he's now out for a few months. What was the link between bringing Callachan on and then him breaking down at the end of a training session? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizzlyg Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 Just now, ropy said: What was the link between bringing Callachan on and then him breaking down at the end of a training session? Was he not injured during the match? If not fair do's but again if it's someone getting injured during a training session something ain't right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropy Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 2 hours ago, thewelllfan said: Could probably do with a Wing-back either side as well with a bit of pace about them if we're not going to play with wingers. What about Seddon and Kaleta? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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