star sail Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I have been disappointed by the reaction of the press to last nights results. The Aberdeen result is embarrasing and to some degree Falkirk's result was also poor but to lump Motherwell and Celtic in with what some papers are calling a dismal week for Scottish Football is harsh. Celtic lost to a team who are well into their season in a league that is fairly strong. From Well's point of view 3-0 away from home against a decent European side is not a disgrace as some in the press have labelled it. The truth is that the Scottish game is a country mile behind most other European nations but it is not this weeks results that show us that. For years now European teams have been fitter, more organised and more technically gifted and it is going to take some radical change in the Scottish game (and the Scottish culture) to get close to this (and the problem is not simply money). I think it is a shame that Motherwell get held up for example when in actual fact they have done as well as could be expected of them. I am pleased with the way JG is talking about trying to progress the game in Scotland but he needs like minded people within the game to help and unfortunately it seems that footballing philosophy in Scotland is stuck in the past. What our teams don't need is our press ridiculing individual teams for what is a national problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Diggle Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 It's a fair point. The press talking the game down is one of the strands that need to be addressed. We need to begin talking the game up in terms of realistic expectations - before we can improve. We need to encourage bums on seats and kids feet on the end of a football - not the reverse. We need to improve as a nation - aye. But we're not as bad as the press make out - well maybe The Dons are an exception. But you get my drift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one m in motherwell Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Agreed. It was refreshing to read JG's comments after the game, and while we all know the state Scottish football is in compared to the continent, it's in a way reassuring that we've got a manager who is willing to at least try to drag us kicking and screaming out of the 'Route 1' pish. I think the real test will be when we hit October/November time - hopefully the momentum we've built up pre-season can be sustained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 After the emotion of lasst night... losing to Steuea away is no disgrace. Scotland would find it difficult to match Romania away. I actually do think we will be fine next season. The players we have brought in whilst not world beaters would in my opinion easily handl bottom six clubs (once fully fit). As I said yesterday, we are probably not going to meet another team as strong as that for the rest of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 It was refreshing to read JG's comments after the game, and while we all know the state Scottish football is in compared to the continent, it's in a way reassuring that we've got a manager who is willing to at least try to drag us kicking and screaming out of the 'Route 1' pish. Completely agree. This is the reason why Scottish players are not comfortable on the ball, they are coached from an early age to get rid of it asap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolhandluc Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Just waiting on the bus back to airport. Gutted at result, but met some right decent Well fans. Julian from Essex is a legend;he has followed Motherwell all over the world and can rhyme off dates of games he's been to back in the 80s. He was asking for Jimmy Yuill, Pie and Rickoza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickoza Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Cheers Julian! Got a couple of text messages from Julian when he was at the game, sounded like he'd had a sherbet or two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvinBragg Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Beaten by a better team last night, there's no disgrace in that. I thought we played as well last night as we did in Nancy last year but Steaua were more ruthless than the French. An achievement in itself, given the comparative lack of experience in the team that started last night. Really impressed with Ruddy and Coke on their debuts. If they can maintain that level, we've got two great signings. If not for the big keeper, it could have been a lot worse than 3-0. And Coke's run the length of the park to slide in and put the guy off stopped a certain goal and 4-0. Coke got stuck in when he had to and also seemed to use the ball very well. If he'd stuck away his chance, our result would have looked even more respectable. The defence still needs work, but I think we all knew that. I don't think we'll meet many teams with such slick movement this season. Hutchison looks raw but certainly has the tools to be an excellent player. My only concern is that I don't know if Craigan is good enough to coach him through the games while maintaining his own level of performance. Saunders had his best game of the season last night even though he was done for the third goal. He has a good throw on him as well. A quick word for Sutton and Slane. Sutton didn't have a lot to work with last night but whenever we got the ball to his feet he seemed to find a Motherwell man with the ball. And Slane showed enough to suggest that he will be able to cut in the SPL no problems at all. As impressive as he was last week, we had to take into account the level of opposition. Last night, he made the step up, no problem. Gannon continues to impress me. He even seemed to notice last night that having given away the penalty, Forbes was letting it get to him and he withdrew him. I'm sure he'll have a few words with him and try and help him learn from it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Was a very shrewd change, the Forbes one, for the reasons you outlined Melvin as well as the fact Reynolds was just not getting to grips with their right wing attacks and the more experienced Hammell certainly helped out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottW1886 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I was impressed with that switch as well - nothing against Ross Forbes, but he was having a poor game last night which will happen to everyone and it was a good change. Also Gannon's willingness to change things as soon as he thought it wasn't working, which was not something we witnessed last season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Beaten by a better team last night, there's no disgrace in that. I thought we played as well last night as we did in Nancy last yearI'm one of the few who thought we were very poor in Nancy last year. No disgrace in losing to a very good Steaua team, but I was a little disappointed with our lack of willingness to retain possession instead of lumping it up the park (especially in the first half). Great learning experience for the team. Hopefully they will take as much out of this as they can and build on it over the next few weeks ready for the return to league action. And there is no doubt it has been a cracking pre-season. Two early goals for us next Thursday and we might still have a game on our hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Bit lost with people reckoning O'Brien and Hammell will be bit part players. Hammell is a far, far better full back than Reynolds for my money and O'Brien came onto a game last year and put in a cracking shift at full back against the Albanians (despite his defensive frailties, he ran all night). I'd have liked to have seen more of Murphy last night too, you've got a boy raring to go after scoring a hattrick and he gets dropped? I'm actually pretty confident about this season for the first time, aye we got beat 3-0, but there were positives in the game. Ruddy looked confident immediately, Slane looks at the very least, a good SPL player, Murphy seems to be making some of the steps forward we hoped, Coke looks decent and a manager who seems to at least have a very strong vision of how his football should be played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdalli10 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 gannon will rewatch the game discover steauas weak points and weel be a huge improvement next week, guarenteed. lots hope he's seen plenty of tapes of st johnstone. its so refreshing to hear a well manager talk about we, us, our and my club. i have total faith in mr gannon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvinBragg Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I'm one of the few who thought we were very poor in Nancy last year. Aye, I agree. Meant to say we'd played better last night than in Nancy. At least last night we dhowed some attacking ambition... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_P Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I have been disappointed by the reaction of the press to last nights results. The Aberdeen result is embarrasing and to some degree Falkirk's result was also poor but to lump Motherwell and Celtic in with what some papers are calling a dismal week for Scottish Football is harsh. Celtic lost to a team who are well into their season in a league that is fairly strong. From Well's point of view 3-0 away from home against a decent European side is not a disgrace as some in the press have labelled it. The truth is that the Scottish game is a country mile behind most other European nations but it is not this weeks results that show us that. For years now European teams have been fitter, more organised and more technically gifted and it is going to take some radical change in the Scottish game (and the Scottish culture) to get close to this (and the problem is not simply money). I think it is a shame that Motherwell get held up for example when in actual fact they have done as well as could be expected of them. I am pleased with the way JG is talking about trying to progress the game in Scotland but he needs like minded people within the game to help and unfortunately it seems that footballing philosophy in Scotland is stuck in the past. What our teams don't need is our press ridiculing individual teams for what is a national problem. I thought along similar lines this morning when I heard Hugh Keevins grasp the opportunity for some easy soundbytes when discussing last night and Wednesday nights results. Ofcourse that's no different from normal for him but it did feel a bit harsh that we were lumped into it just to allow him to wallow in an extra bit of sensationalism. But he wasn't alone. The presenter of Sports Report yesterday (the name escapes me), Radio Scotland's sports programme at 1245 every day was trying to create an angle saying we were under pressure going into last night's game. Fortunately there are those who are able to show some understanding and are able to look beyond the headline. It took the reporter who travelled with the team (again who's name escapes me) to point out that we had got into the tournament through the back door and had got 3 rounds out of the competition, we were playing with a squad full of guys who played in the youth and reserve teams and that nobody expected us to win. Where was the pressure coming from? We would have been more deserving of criticism if it had been the team of last year with the high-earners who had bombed 3-0 but as I said earlier in the thread, this is a young team very much at the start of their cycle and the mocking that we've had from some is a bit unmerited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Kerse Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 My take on the game yesterday nad the Euro run. At 3-0 (should have been 6) there is still something to hope for of albeit, fairytale proportions. The positive we must harbour from this is that come St Johnstone and Killie after it we will be absolutely flying out of the traps. You couldn't rival the aerobic work out of Flamutari away, the physical work out of Steaua away and the technical sharpness and confidence of scoring 8 at home in a competitive match at home to Flamurtari. I seriously believe that these boys (let alone with 3/4 new faces) will absolutely thump St Johnstone and Killie in those first two games. Hey, we might win both 4-0 and be sitting top of the SPL. For those reasons and the fact we done our bit for the Co-Ef and got past the 'easy' rounds think the Euro experience will have been magnificent, nae - vital to our pre-season. And the rollercoster continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star sail Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 its so refreshing to hear a well manager talk about we, us, our and my club. i have total faith in mr gannon Absolutely. I like the wording of some of his phrases that while they may be subtle say a lot. The one that got me last week was (when talking about Slane) 'I'm looking forward to working for him' or words to that effect. There is an element of selflessness about his comments and even if it is slightly manufactured it is a big improvement. Certainly at least in the aftermath of a rather bruising defeat he was not focused on his reputation as a Stockport Legend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcalf Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 We would have been more deserving of criticism if it had been the team of last year with the high-earners who had bombed 3-0 but as I said earlier in the thread, this is a young team very much at the start of their cycle and the mocking that we've had from some is a bit unmerited. Thought along similar lines about the Llanelli game, if that had been what we reckoned was our established side I reckon we'd have struggled more against them in the away game. But why allow a journalist to get under your skin Andy we all know they know fuck all about the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decorator Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 that last night was the best team i have seen motherwell play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldonmac Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 At the very worst, on Thursday we might need to settle for scoring the winner in extra time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romania Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 hey mates.. are the wages of motherwell players been public? can you tell me the average year wage of a basic player ? 10x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I'd guess roughly 1k p/w is our wage, so you're talking about 52k per year as a basic I'd guess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I don't read newspaper reports on football matches as a rule. If I was at the game, I don't need some sensationalist jumped up arsehole whose only interested in selling papers to tell me how my team played. And that goes double for Hugh Keevins. I sometimes scan through them if I'm waiting on the train etc and today was a bit disapointed by alleged 'Well fan Scot Burns in The Daily Express for saying "Motherwell and Aberdeen suffering embarrassing results", proving my decision not to read the papers a good one! How Motherwell and Aberdeens results can be labelled together as one and the same is beyond me. We were well beaten (by a far superior team and away from home) granted. Aberdeen were absolutely humiliated, at home, by a team with all due respect, nobody has ever heard of! It's not even nearly the same thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I think The Guardian provided a little more perspective (although the article was mostly about Mowbray). That said, there are always those worse off. While Motherwell's 3–0 defeat to Steaua Bucharest was partly understandable – Motherwell, basically, are not too hot and the new manager, Jim Gannon, is in the process of rebuilding a team which has lost its best players – Sigma Olomouc's 5–1 demolition of Aberdeen at Pittodrie was a staggering result. Mark McGhee, the new Dons manager, appreciates that, conceding he has gone from "legend to idiot" after his first game in charge. McGhee, after all, was part of Alex Ferguson's all-conquering Aberdeen side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yir Elder Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I must say I feel quite philosophical about the game last night. Steaua showed how impressive they are from midfield to front with some superb passing and movement, skill which no-one in the SPL could've coped with any better than we did. Okay we lost bad goal but it could've been more, and there can be no doubting the effort the lads put in. Barring a miracle we're out but let's get as many along to the Shiteberry next week to cheer the team on, they fully deserve our backing and maybe we can end our best ever European campaign with a win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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