Ross County v Motherwell 23/11/2024

[David]

My problem with the possession statistics is that they seem to be the only thing people can use to criticise our season so far. Some fans are going to great lengths to approach the situation from the angle of, "Right, we've reached a cup semi-final, we're 5th in the league with a four-point cushion over 6th place, and we have two games in hand, but what about the possession stats?!"

Would it be nice to see us retain the ball more? Of course. Would I trade that for winning games and sitting in 5th? Not for a second.

[Spiderpig]

2 hours ago, David said:

#HappyClapperPatter

Nah, just wanting your team to win patter, the only thing people remember about games is the result, not how much possession you had, shots on target, corners, etc etc. So the stats are irrelevant it's did Motherwell score more than the other team, that wins points and prizes.

[David]

1 hour ago, Spiderpig said:

Nah, just wanting your team to win patter, the only thing people remember about games is the result, not how much possession you had, shots on target, corners, etc etc. So the stats are irrelevant it's did Motherwell score more than the other team, that wins points and prizes.

I have a feeling you didn't quite get the gist of my original post on the matter. Never mind.

[santheman]

I'm more interested in the areas where we give possession up to other teams.

Possession in their own half or midfield don't bother me at all however if it was continually in our own penalty box then that's a different matter.

Sure someone could come up with the area possession stats which I would guess would mostly be in the oppositions own half and midfield and the number of shots on goal against us which I would guess will be below the league average.

What we're doing is certainly effective even although it's maybe not pretty on the eye at times.

If it comes to a choice between watching free flowing football and getting beat and ending up battling relegation or shitfesting our way to wins and league safety and a chance at Europe I know what I would pick.

Of course a combination of both would be brilliant but we're not Man City or Barcelona and you play to the strengths of your available players.

Maybe when we have all our injured players back at full fitness we can look at things differently but on the whole I'm pretty satisfied at where we are just now.

 

[Spiderpig]

16 minutes ago, David said:

I have a feeling you didn't quite get the gist of my original post on the matter. Never mind.

I got the jist of it OK, but as I said earlier irrelevant statistics that nobody remembers, but if if discussing it in depth maintains your illusion of superiority feel free.

[StAndrew7]

I think this one might get postponed, looking at the weather...

[David]

46 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

I got the jist of it OK, but as I said earlier irrelevant statistics that nobody remembers, but if if discussing it in depth maintains your illusion of superiority feel free.

I was poking fun at the usual suspects who overlook the current success of the team in favour of the only thing they can moan about. Possession. 

Jesus Christ man. This place is hard work at times.

[Kmcalpin]

3 hours ago, David said:

My problem with the possession statistics is that they seem to be the only thing people can use to criticise our season so far. Some fans are going to great lengths to approach the situation from the angle of, "Right, we've reached a cup semi-final, we're 5th in the league with a four-point cushion over 6th place, and we have two games in hand, but what about the possession stats?!"

I don't go along with that at all. Yes, some people have an obsession with the figures and numbers, granted. However other common criticisms hold more weight. Not closing the opposition down; defending too deeply; and not supporting the striker(s).  Santheman touches on this with his comment about where we give up possession. When we're defending I'm more than happy to give up possession 40 yards or more from goal. Within that 40 yards definitely not.  

[David]

44 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

I don't go along with that at all. Yes, some people have an obsession with the figures and numbers, granted. However other common criticisms hold more weight. Not closing the opposition down; defending too deeply; and not supporting the striker(s).  Santheman touches on this with his comment about where we give up possession. When we're defending I'm more than happy to give up possession 40 yards or more from goal. Within that 40 yards definitely not.  

I understand where you're coming from, but I think some of those criticisms might not carry as much weight when you look at the bigger picture of our performances and results this season. Points about not closing down, defending too deeply, or not supporting the strikers can often be linked to tactical choices that have ultimately been effective.

We're 5th in the league, with a comfortable cushion and games in hand, plus a cup semi-final in the books. These achievements suggest that the approach is working overall, even if it’s not always the most visually pleasing. For instance, defending deeper may not be ideal for possession stats, but it’s clearly effective in certain situations—particularly against stronger opposition, where soaking up pressure and hitting on the counter has proven successful.

When it comes to possession, I think it’s worth considering that stats can be misleading. It’s not just about where or how often we lose the ball—it’s about how effective we are when we have it. Even with lower possession figures, we’ve still been able to create chances and score goals at crucial moments, which is why we’re in such a strong position in the league.

So, while it’s fair to critique certain aspects of our play, focusing too much on possession numbers or isolated tactical decisions seems like nitpicking when the results on the board show progress. The balance might not be perfect yet, but it’s been delivering success so far, and that’s what matters most.

In that context, our season so far has been a success. 

[wellfan]

6 hours ago, Spiderpig said:

Nah, just wanting your team to win patter, the only thing people remember about games is the result, not how much possession you had, shots on target, corners, etc etc. So the stats are irrelevant it's did Motherwell score more than the other team, that wins points and prizes.

I remember a lot more about games than the result. I go to matches to be entertained; win, lose or draw. The best game I’ve ever been to was the 6-6 draw v Hibs. So I challenge your point about stats being irrelevant. 

[grizzlyg]

We could have 70% possession,  win a game 1-0 and folk would  go "only 1-0 with 70%??.......rubbish" 🤣🤣

[Spiderpig]

2 hours ago, wellfan said:

I remember a lot more about games than the result. I go to matches to be entertained; win, lose or draw. The best game I’ve ever been to was the 6-6 draw v Hibs. So I challenge your point about stats being irrelevant. 

I take your point about remembering more from games than the result, I'm the same but it's Goals like Jutkewitz in the 6-6 game, Colin O'Neil with the 3rd in the 91 semi, Steven Craigan opening the gate for his throw in, great or terrible tackles, etc. My point is these are all that fans remember, can you tell me how much possession we had in the 6-6 game, or the various finals and euro game we've been in, no neither can I.

As I said the stats that matter are Goals scored, points won, final league positions, and the number of trophies won at the end of the season.

All the shite we get nowadays expected Goals ratio,  corners, possession, etc etc is just meaningless drivel.

[SteelmaninOZ]

14 hours ago, StAndrew7 said:

I think this one might get postponed, looking at the weather...

Aye, and another three games in 7days it will be a midweek replay eh? 

[StAndrew7]

1 hour ago, SteelmaninOZ said:

Aye, and another three games in 7days it will be a midweek replay eh? 

Yup. County fan on P&B saying they've had more snow overnight, with more forecast. They're not sure it'll be on.

[joewarkfanclub]

Asking players and fans to drive up the A9 when the weather forecast is as shite as it is, would be really poor imho.

Id rather we didnt have to postpone as we dont want the fixtures to back up, but safety really should be paramount.

The roads are already bad and Saturdays forecast is horrendous.

[StAndrew7]

Provided the game is on, here's some thoughts on starting formation...

We all know Kettlewell won't change the system from a back three/five and with Gordon being available again I'd go for this (with Balmer/Casey playing whichever side works best; Balmer appears to have some kind of left footed ability so makes sense to play him there):

Ox

Casey - Gordon - Balmer

Kaleta - Miller - Wilson - Seddon

Sparrow

Maswanhise - Stama

Wilson and Miller sitting and Sparrow breaking beyond the midfield to support the two up top.

[mio]

6 hours ago, StAndrew7 said:

Yup. County fan on P&B saying they've had more snow overnight, with more forecast. They're not sure it'll be on.

Seems to be an Amber weather warning all day Saturday for snow and ice up north. I’d imagine it’ll be off, having players and fans traveling up there is too risky if it’s going to be that bad imo. Those roads are bad enough in good weather.

[StAndrew7]

2 minutes ago, mio said:

Seems to be an Amber weather warning all day Saturday for snow and ice up north. I’d imagine it’ll be off, having players and fans traveling up there is too risky if it’s going to be that bad imo. Those roads are bad enough in good weather.

Aye, although you'd expect the team to head up tomorrow and stay over, so I guess if they're there, it can go ahead? I agree re: fan/travel safety, it'll be interesting to see what happens if it's as bad as feared if the team is already there and the pitch is alright.

[David]

10 minutes ago, StAndrew7 said:

Aye, although you'd expect the team to head up tomorrow and stay over, so I guess if they're there, it can go ahead? I agree re: fan/travel safety, it'll be interesting to see what happens if it's as bad as feared if the team is already there and the pitch is alright.

I'm sure I've seen games get called on account of the surroundings being unsafe for fans to travel. I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen this weekend, sadly.

[weeyin]

39 minutes ago, David said:

I'm sure I've seen games get called on account of the surroundings being unsafe for fans to travel. I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen this weekend, sadly.

That, and I've also seen games called off even when only the area immediately surrounding the ground has been unsafe (icy pavements etc.)

[SteelmaninOZ]

The gaffer said