johnstone Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 15 hours ago, Benson said: Quite concerning that we don't have any young homegrown talent that's ready to step up. Eh? Over the last few years we have had Johnston, Turnbull, Campbell, Hastie and now Miller and Wilson all playing for the first team and getting good moves to bigger clubs. We do a hell of a lot better than most teams in the league in promoting academy players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Not to mention a load of them are out on loan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 13 hours ago, wellsince75 said: Agree that as a team we can offer a lot more . As a small example…….. we’ve lost our way defensively , early in season defensively we were strong with McGinn , Gordon and Casey. The back 3 now are SOD, Gordon and Blaney . It may sound subtle but Gordon is now left out to dry . I’m not clear what Casey has done to be dropped or why SOD is preferred to Balmer as a central defender . and that’s just in defence , wingbacks have a similar issue as does midfield . Overall we have more than enough quality to remain in top 6 but we need to get back to basics. I think SOD and Blaney have been preferred in recent weeks to try and play a bit more football at the back. Previously we had Casey, Gordon and Balmer and the ball was getting shelled over the top of the midfield to strikers unable to deal with it. I understand why it was done, but it hasnt really worked. Our pass/possession rate hasnt improved and we look more fragile at the back than ever, mostly from cross balls. Our biggest problem all season has been midfield. We havent had the numbers due to injury and illness, and the ones left fit and available simply dont have the legs or ability to make five at the back work unless we push the wing backs high, which leaves us vulnerable at the back. Like KMcAlpin says, we need fresh eyes to look at the sqaud and find a solution that works vetter than what we have been doing. Otherwise we are going to passively slip into a relegation battle we currently look ill equipped to get out of. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 17 hours ago, FirParkCornerExile said: Casey was pish that why he was dropped , absolutely shocking in the Cup tie at Perth. He's a bloody bombscare. I'd pack him on his way. Thats not to say what is left is much better. Casey has made mistakes no doubt. But he hasnt made more this season than Blaney, SOD, Balmer or even Gordon. His attitude and commitment on the pitch can never be questioned and I think it is more likely that he has been left out for speaking his mind than his footballing ability. If he has indeed signed a PCA with Hearts that may also feed into it. But he isnt any poorer a player than the others on current form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelmaninOZ Posted February 3 Author Report Share Posted February 3 The new lad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Armstong has a few good attributes from what I've seen so far. Is a nuisance, can win flick-ons, hold the ball up well. Also lays it off and finds passes. In the clip above, yesterday's goal was a fairly instinctive finish. Now, if you have a Maswanhise/Plange/Dickson running off him, it could be a good combo up top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirParkCornerExile Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 2 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said: Casey has made mistakes no doubt. But he hasnt made more this season than Blaney, SOD, Balmer or even Gordon. His attitude and commitment on the putch can never be questioned and I think it is more likely that he has been left out for speaking his mind than his footballing ability. If he has indeed signed a PCA with Hearts that may also feed into it. But he isnt any poorer a player than the others on current form. Oh believe me I get shot of the rest too. We don't ship the goals we do cos any of them are any great shakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benson Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 5 hours ago, johnstone said: Eh? Over the last few years we have had Johnston, Turnbull, Campbell, Hastie and now Miller and Wilson all playing for the first team and getting good moves to bigger clubs. We do a hell of a lot better than most teams in the league in promoting I should have made myself a lot more clearer, we have a squad of over 30 and brought in how many loans and apart from Miller and Wilson no one at present from the academy can make the bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthefringes Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 2 minutes ago, Benson said: I should have made myself a lot more clearer, we have a squad of over 30 and brought in how many loans and apart from Miller and Wilson no one at present from the academy can make the bench. Kind of difficult when you’ve loaned them out to aid their development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benson Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 10 hours ago, Richie said: Not to mention a load of them are out on loan. So they're not good enough for our bench. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderpig Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 56 minutes ago, Benson said: So they're not good enough for our bench. Yes thats why they are out on loan to hopefully develop and improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benson Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 11 hours ago, Spiderpig said: Yes thats why they are out on loan to hopefully develop and improve. If you're not good enough to break into this squad at this time it doesn't look great for future,age should be no barrier to first team involvement,name me one player to look out for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 1 hour ago, Benson said: If you're not good enough to break into this squad at this time it doesn't look great for future,age should be no barrier to first team involvement,name me one player to look out for? Thats a bit simplistic We no longer have reserve football to get young boys used to playing against senior players. They just go from youth football straight into first team squads. Physical development can play a big part at that age as all boys mature at different rates. Not everyone is a generational talent like Lennon Miller, and even he was a fairly big boy at 16. Of course some wont make it, at least not with us. But a lot of our boys go on to play senior football at a decent level. I think we do ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 1 hour ago, Benson said: If you're not good enough to break into this squad at this time it doesn't look great for future,age should be no barrier to first team involvement,name me one player to look out for? 19 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said: Thats a bit simplistic We no longer have reserve football to get young boys used to playing against senior players. They just go from youth football straight into first team squads. Physical development can play a big part at that age as all boys mature at different rates. Not everyone is a generational talent like Lennon Miller, and even he was a fairly big boy at 16. Of course some wont make it, at least not with us. But a lot of our boys go on to play senior football at a decent level. I think we do ok. I think we should look out for Dylan Wells and Luca Ross next season, although that’s not to say that the other boys currently out on loan won’t have developed further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 42 minutes ago, wellfan said: I think we should look out for Dylan Wells and Luca Ross next season, although that’s not to say that the other boys currently out on loan won’t have developed further. Certainly farming out Wilson to the juniors helped his development. Although I think he could still work on his fitness / diet and his body positioning. Both Wells and Ross still looked like wee boys in a mans world this season. Hopefully they will come back men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texanwellfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 7 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said: Certainly farming out Wilson to the juniors helped his development. Although I think he could still work on his fitness / diet and his body positioning. Both Wells and Ross still looked like wee boys in a mans world this season. Hopefully they will come back men. So did Ian Clinging and he wasn’t half bad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc88 Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 On 2/4/2025 at 8:23 AM, Benson said: If you're not good enough to break into this squad at this time it doesn't look great for future,age should be no barrier to first team involvement,name me one player to look out for? If you look back over the last 20 years or so, we have probably averaged 1 academy player per season becoming a regular in the first team. Off the top of my head from the last 10 seasons (timings may be slightly off, possibly forgetting one or two also). 24/25 Wilson 23/24 Miller 22/23 Johnson 21/22 Cornelius 20/21 Maguire 19/20 Scott 18/19 Turnbull, Hastie 17/18 Campbell 16/17 Cadden 15/16 Hall I don't know how that compares to other SPL clubs but can't imagine any will be doing much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texanwellfan Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 2 hours ago, mfc88 said: If you look back over the last 20 years or so, we have probably averaged 1 academy player per season becoming a regular in the first team. Off the top of my head from the last 10 seasons (timings may be slightly off, possibly forgetting one or two also). 24/25 Wilson 23/24 Miller 22/23 Johnson 21/22 Cornelius 20/21 Maguire 19/20 Scott 18/19 Turnbull, Hastie 17/18 Campbell 16/17 Cadden 15/16 Hall I don't know how that compares to other SPL clubs but can't imagine any will be doing much better. Didn’t we have a few games where we had 4 or 5 in the starting line ? inthink it was last year or year before there was an article about players coming thru academies and Motherwell was far ahead of other teams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc88 Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 23 minutes ago, texanwellfan said: Didn’t we have a few games where we had 4 or 5 in the starting line ? inthink it was last year or year before there was an article about players coming thru academies and Motherwell was far ahead of other teams Yeah for sure... season 18/19 for example, we would have had campbell, turnbull, hastie and cadden all in the starting line up. I'm sure there's other examples of that as well, and I could be missing one or two players in that list. I was just trying to plot out what year they established themselves. Not looked into it any more than above, but as I said it feels like on aveage 1 academy graduate per season establishing themselves as a first teamer, which seems decent IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuwell2 Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 Within that time we’ve also had players who have left us for “bigger” clubs - with a varying degree of success- before making their first team debut. Which, although it doesn’t help the first team, it does make our academy a more attractive option for youngsters and their parents, with a potential of future development fees if they progress and are sold on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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