Aberdeen v Motherwell 29/03/2025

[Alpha1886]

8 hours ago, wellgirl said:

He's done not bad at points and maybe he couldn't have saved it but that second goal for them - we cleared it and two seconds later - back of the net. 

Just a Ps. That's the first time I've ever been at Pittodrie - horrible wee shed and their fans 🤣🤣🤣

They were gesturing to our support - and at one point I thought they were going to start fighting each other 

Yes he cleared it - well out of the box. Please explain why the goal is then  his fault.
The ball is returned into box and our defenders don’t deal with it and the shot takes a lucky deflection away from Balcombe.
Think highly of Ox and hope he turns out to be our goalie in the future. But don’t understand why Balcombe  is the new scapegoat. Do you really think Ox would have made a difference today?
Recall Ox making errors but he had more than made up for those in other games. He had credit in the bank.
Don’t think Balcombe cost us any goals today. In fact he made some good saves to keep us in the game. Even the fourth goal took a deflection. 
So why pick on him? Shades of some on this forum who took delight  on castigating Liam Kelly.

Edited Sunday at 01:55 AM by Alpha1886
Misspelling

[grizzlyg]

Very strange that sportscene done no post match analysis about us, surely that wasn't because Kettlewell was in the studio

[wellgirl]

7 hours ago, Alpha1886 said:

Yes he cleared it - well out of the box. Please explain why the goal is then  his fault.
The ball is returned into box and our defenders don’t deal with it and the shot takes a lucky deflection away from Balcombe.
Think highly of Ox and hope he turns out to be our goalie in the future. But don’t understand why Balcombe  is the new scapegoat. Do you really think Ox would have made a difference today?
Recall Ox making errors but he had more than made up for those in other games. He had credit in the bank.
Don’t think Balcombe cost us any goals today. In fact he made some good saves to keep us in the game. Even the fourth goal took a deflection. 
So why pick on him? Shades of some on this forum who took delight  on castigating Liam Kelly.

Im not picking on him on any level nor am I scapegoating him for yesterdays performance. I also said maybe he couldn't have saved it. That's not picking on him. He's been tremendous in some games - but I don't think there's anything wrong with saying now that Aston is fit again maybe give him a game. 

Aston was our goalie before he broke his thumb so obviously there's going to be competition for the jersey. 

 

[joewarkfanclub]

Not really sure where to start with yesterday.

Found it really hard to work out what our gameplan was. We certainly didnt press high with intensity (so no high ball wins) but we didnt sit off in a low block either. It was some sort of weird mid block that Aberdeen passed around with ease 

Not sure if thats on the players or the manager.

SOD & Sparrow had very poor first halves although both were much better second.

Thompson looks like a footballer, but continually gets wrong side of his man and gives the ball away for fun. So careless with his passing, although not the only one yesterday.

Agree Balcombe not at fault for goals yesterday, but he does parry everything and distribution is rotten so Id have Ox back in asap as he is our keeper.

Like Armstrong, works hard and with more support could be effective at our level. Tony Watt should be put on a bus back to Dundee. He better not have some sort of contract for next season that no one has told us about!

Least said about the defence the better.

Lots for MW to think about. Thats the first time tge players have shown him their negative side. He needs to deal with that.

Final word for Aberdeen and their away end. Absolutely shocking. Penned in a tiny wee corner only have of which was covered. Given the weather forecast we were lucky not to get more of a soaking than we did. They wasted more seats with their "new segreagation" than they filled in the old away end and the efforts of their stewards to keep their neanderthals away from us were pathetic. One guy was right in our faces after every goal. Thankfully the polis eventually huckled him. At £10 it was overpriced and I wont be back in a hurry.

[wellsince75]

41 minutes ago, grizzlyg said:

Very strange that sportscene done no post match analysis about us, surely that wasn't because Kettlewell was in the studio

There wasn't a lot we did well to be analysed .  Although I do think it's too early for him to be commenting on 'Well so a decent dodge by sportscene. 

[wellsince75]

My perspective from yesterday is we simply don't have the right type of player or quality of player to play attractive , pressing football in a consistent manner. 

We were excellent in the first half against Dundee, it's more the exception than the rule.  There have been flashes of decency but when all said and done we're not great shakes and will end up in the bottom 6. 

The key for me is Wimmer will need to be ruthless at end of the season,  there's not many players we should retain.  Equally how we bring in decent quality that improves the squad is going to be key. 

Who's good enough for a start every week. 

Keeper - Ox  

Defence - none

Midfield - Miller & Slattery 

Forward - none given we need fit strikers who can score. 

it's a huge rebuild job and I feel would be a mistake to offer players contracts knowing they'll be squad players 

[wellfan]

5 minutes ago, wellsince75 said:

Who's good enough for a start every week. 

Keeper - Ox  

Defence - none

Midfield - Miller & Slattery 

Forward - none given we need fit strikers who can score. 

A damning indictment on what Kettlewell was allowed to build, and I can’t disagree with your assessment.

Unfortunately, and to compound matters, we’re still going into next season with a lot of the current crop of crap. 

I imagine it’s about now, and over the next two games, where Wimmer finally realises just how big a task he’s got on his hands to fix the mess he’s inherited.

I’ll be happy to finish tenth and look forward to FC Motherwell 2025/26. 

[twistandshout1983]

1 hour ago, grizzlyg said:

Very strange that sportscene done no post match analysis about us, surely that wasn't because Kettlewell was in the studio

That's one thing I noticed as well , spoke about Aberdeen briefly then moved on to the next game 

[wellfan]

1 hour ago, grizzlyg said:

Very strange that sportscene done no post match analysis about us, surely that wasn't because Kettlewell was in the studio

6 minutes ago, twistandshout1983 said:

That's one thing I noticed as well , spoke about Aberdeen briefly then moved on to the next game 

It’s either a case of:

• them all being shitebags
• someone has finally had a word in Kettlewell’s ear to advise him to stop spouting shit as it’s being detrimental to his employability and making him look like an idiot
• he’s legally not allowed to discuss Motherwell anymore for whatever reason (e.g. contractual severance pay?)
• or all of the above

[grizzlyg]

6 minutes ago, wellfan said:

It’s either a case of:

• them all being shitebags
• someone has finally had a word in Kettlewell’s ear to advise him to stop spouting shit as it’s being detrimental to his employability and making him look like an idiot
• he’s legally not allowed to discuss Motherwell anymore for whatever reason (e.g. contractual severance pay?)
• or all of the above

Sounds about right, but if that is case he shouldn't be on as a pundit.  They could have asked naismith about our performance.   Obviously was a 4-1 pumping so not that bothered but was strange 

[Kmcalpin]

43 minutes ago, wellsince75 said:

The key for me is Wimmer will need to be ruthless at end of the season,  there's not many players we should retain.  Equally how we bring in decent quality that improves the squad is going to be key. 

Who's good enough for a start every week. 

Keeper - Ox  

Defence - none

Midfield - Miller & Slattery 

Forward - none given we need fit strikers who can score. 

it's a huge rebuild job and I feel would be a mistake to offer players contracts knowing they'll be squad players 

I don't disagree, in the main. The problem is that we have quite a few players still under contract for next season. We don't yet know how well MW can wheel and deal. The defence needs to be a priority as its shipping goals. Our midfield set up too has been a major element in that too.  

[robsterwood]

1 hour ago, Kmcalpin said:

I don't disagree, in the main. The problem is that we have quite a few players still under contract for next season. We don't yet know how well MW can wheel and deal. The defence needs to be a priority as its shipping goals. Our midfield set up too has been a major element in that too.  

We lack pace and strength at the back and all through team. Most spl teams have at least one player with pace and agility in forward areas. St Mirren showed that last week. We lack these attributes. Even forward players on loan pretty poor. As soon as we're safe, Plange should be sent back and also Dickson if he no better.

[texanwellfan]

6 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said:

Not really sure where to start with yesterday.

Found it really hard to work out what our gameplan was. We certainly didnt press high with intensity (so no high ball wins) but we didnt sit off in a low block either. It was some sort of weird mid block that Aberdeen passed around with ease 

Not sure if thats on the players or the manager.

SOD & Sparrow had very poor first halves although both were much better second.

Thompson looks like a footballer, but continually gets wrong side of his man and gives the ball away for fun. So careless with his passing, although not the only one yesterday.

Agree Balcombe not at fault for goals yesterday, but he does parry everything and distribution is rotten so Id have Ox back in asap as he is our keeper.

Like Armstrong, works hard and with more support could be effective at our level. Tony Watt should be put on a bus back to Dundee. He better not have some sort of contract for next season that no one has told us about!

Least said about the defence the better.

Lots for MW to think about. Thats the first time tge players have shown him their negative side. He needs to deal with that.

Final word for Aberdeen and their away end. Absolutely shocking. Penned in a tiny wee corner only have of which was covered. Given the weather forecast we were lucky not to get more of a soaking than we did. They wasted more seats with their "new segreagation" than they filled in the old away end and the efforts of their stewards to keep their neanderthals away from us were pathetic. One guy was right in our faces after every goal. Thankfully the polis eventually huckled him. At £10 it was overpriced and I wont be back in a hurry.

Is Balcombe on loan? Since he really hasn’t been the cause of our defeats perhaps just giving Ox some extra recovery time ? 

[Kmcalpin]

5 minutes ago, texanwellfan said:

Is Balcombe on loan? Since he really hasn’t been the cause of our defeats perhaps just giving Ox some extra recovery time ? 

Thats exactly my take. Maybe the Ox isn"t quite there yet. 

[wellgirl]

49 minutes ago, texanwellfan said:

Is Balcombe on loan? Since he really hasn’t been the cause of our defeats perhaps just giving Ox some extra recovery time ? 

Yes till end of season I believe 

[wellgirl]

Ox is back in training - saw photos of him in goals on Facebook earlier in the week. 

[wunderwell]

16 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

I won't argue with that. Our defence needs a virtually complete overhaul; our goals against tally makes that crystal clear. That said, we also need to stiffen the defensive midfield - Jordan McGhee maybe?

Certainly was signed as a DM - there is no issue with this transfer and it will proceed as normal.

[joewarkfanclub]

3 hours ago, texanwellfan said:

Is Balcombe on loan? Since he really hasn’t been the cause of our defeats perhaps just giving Ox some extra recovery time ? 

Not arguing against the need for Balcombe due to the injuries to Ox and then Archie Mair. But Ox is back on the bench now so he should be back in when fit......

[wellfan]

3 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said:

Not arguing against the need for Balcombe due to the injuries to Ox and then Archie Mair. But Ox is back on the bench now so he should be back in when fit......

Ox is ours and should absolutely be getting more game time than Balcombe. Regardless, the latter is no good anyway. We’ve also got Calum Ward until the end of the season to keep them on their toes. 

[joewarkfanclub]

Didnt see Sportscene last night. Did they show the Papa Gueye tackle? Was interested to see if the point of contact merited a red card?

Didnt look too clever at the game but it was too far away to tell.....

[grizzlyg]

10 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said:

Didnt see Sportscene last night. Did they show the Papa Gueye tackle? Was interested to see if the point of contact merited a red card?

Didnt look too clever at the game but it was too far away to tell.....

They did show it. Wasn't a great tackle but I thought a yellow probably right decision 

[brainier]

34 minutes ago, grizzlyg said:

They did show it. Wasn't a great tackle but I thought a yellow probably right decision 

I thought it was a red and VAR should at least have intervened. Two footed, reckless, endangering an opponent, scissor action. Surprised they didn't discuss it in the studio. Can't wait to see what Collum makes of it in the VAR review. 

[joewarkfanclub]

1 hour ago, brainier said:

I thought it was a red and VAR should at least have intervened. Two footed, reckless, endangering an opponent, scissor action. Surprised they didn't discuss it in the studio. Can't wait to see what Collum makes of it in the VAR review. 

At the game it was the level of force that concerned me. If both his feet are off the ground then presumably he is out of control and by default has endangered his opponent?

[Mad Dog]

40 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said:

At the game it was the level of force that concerned me. If both his feet are off the ground then presumably he is out of control and by default has endangered his opponent?

Looked like Gueye lost his rag when he lost the ball initially, so arguably retaliation. Wasn't a dangerous tackle as contact was minimal but I did expect VAR to recommend a red card for it.

[grizzlyg]

3 hours ago, brainier said:

I thought it was a red and VAR should at least have intervened. Two footed, reckless, endangering an opponent, scissor action. Surprised they didn't discuss it in the studio. Can't wait to see what Collum makes of it in the VAR review. 

They discussed hee haw in the studio, moved on quickly to next match