Malky79 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I shall not write of the Hump or whatever nickname he lands with. Though if he does keep playing like he has he'll certainly give us.... well you can finish that yerselves. Darren Smith would have got pelters for such displays and I'm pleased people are willing to hold judgement, it would be ridiculous to write him off so soon but it a fact we make judgements on players every game. So far two games two poor displays, even in context of early season and the class of opposition yesterday. Plenty time to make amends but an inauspicious start. Jennings is as big a concern, if his role is to be the unglamourous one fair enough, but he looked off the pace and a bit lacking ability to find a team mate. Again very early days but a poor mans Lasley thus far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvinBragg Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I'm quite surprised that there are so many people who haven't been impressed with Jennings. I know that he looks a wee bit overweight, but for me he's had two good games out of two. He and Forbes combined well last week and I thought he and Coke did well last night against technically superior opposition... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottW1886 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Have to say, I've been impressed with Jennings as well. He does look like he needs to sharpen up, but still impressed me. Think he's going to be one to split the fans..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Diggle Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I'm quite surprised that there are so many people who haven't been impressed with Jennings. I know that he looks a wee bit overweight, but for me he's had two good games out of two. He and Forbes combined well last week and I thought he and Coke did well last night against technically superior opposition... I'm sure he'll improve Melv. I thought in the two games he's played that some of the play passed him by - a bit off the pace - looked like he knew what he wanted to do but his body was too slow to react. He looks an effective tackler and I think he's a good passer who always looks to find a man in C&A. I actually think he's in decent shape and fit enough - it's probably a sharpening up / better match fitness that I think he'll benefit from. i think we'll start to see him coming on to a game in the SPL 5 or 6 games in. Like I mentioned in an earlier post somewhere - sometimes you get that with guys that come up from the lower leagues in England. Might be on a par techically - but the pace of the game is faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Really not fancied Jennings thus far. Perfectly happy to give him time and see him at full fitness, but he seems a fair bit off the pace. Hump I'mnot convinced with either, pulls out of challenges and hasn't delivered on the crosses front either. Ruddy did well, dropping him straight in, good shot stopping, heard that he'll cost us half a mil to buy though. Coke looked tidy for my money. Will do well I reckon. Just as a complete disclaimer, these are only my thoughts thus far! Perfectly happy to be proven wrong and I hope I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Far too early to tell yet. Jennings, Humphreys and Coke haven't yet played 2 full games and their fitness will be well behind the rest of the squad. They haven't even been matched aginst SPL opposition yet. They're also adjusting to a new team. Give them time. John Ruddy looks as if he'll be a very useful addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMWELL15 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 I think it is far too early to make a judgement on any of them good or bad. "One game does not a legend make or break" Can't agree more!! The boys need a bit more than a couple of games to prove themselves!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJ-94 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 A think humphery will be good next year maybe this year also its hard to say ruddy is going to be good im not sure about coke and jennings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Grew Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 Very good summary from Melvin on the newcomers. But comeone guys please give them time to settle in. You cannot seriously judge any of the newcomers on their performance against the Romanians - they come for the lower reaches of the English leagues and are asked to play against a side that probably could hold its own in the Champions League so lets get real. They are not only moving job but moving country and they are still quite young so we must give them time to get up to speed with things. The manager thinks they will do and given his record that should be good enough. The time to judge will be when they have got a number of games under they belt in the SPL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 Exactly. I remember Arsene Wenger saying it takes players at least 6 months to settle in when they switch countries to play in a different league. And he's buying players that are a wee bit better than the ones we buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welldaft Mk1 Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 Ruddy did well, dropping him straight in, good shot stopping, heard that he'll cost us half a mil to buy though. I would be surprised were that the case. Everton paid £250k for him many years ago and he hardly played for them if at all. Not sure how that adds up to £500k. Mind you if he performs like he did against Steaua then he may well be worth £500k. I would hope that if we have the option to buy, which I believe we have - that the price would have been agreed in advance as part of the loan deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC'd Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 that the price would have been agreed in advance as part of the loan deal. This does seem to be common practice in the transfer market of today. Most notably to recall would be Rudi Skacel's move to Hearts. They agreed a one-year loan deal with Marseille for Skacel's services. We all know how well he performed in the season that Hearts split the OF. Hearts as a result took up the option of signing Skacel for about a million, knowing full well that he wasn't willing to play for them for what would be his 2nd season at the club. They took up the option, Skacel became a Hearts player. Southampton then came in with about a £2m bid to acquire his services. Hearts agreed the deal and pocketed the extra million that really should have been Marseille's. That was FHW using the loophole of that deal to their benefit. So, hopefully we can look to do the same with Ruddy and a deal shoud already be in place and hopefully it is a case of Motherwell just saying the word buy to Everton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 Coke, Hump, Ruddy, Jennings, welcome to Motherwell FC... Season hasn't even started yet, and already some of you are cult heroes, some of you simply aren't good enough to ever play for us again. Bit like how the whole team were brilliant and a shoe-in for top six, perhaps even third, after beating a wee team from Albania...yet, are a bunch of wasters, terrible defenders, poor crossers and will need numerous new signings to succeed after being defeated by a team with true European pedigree. It surely won't be long before we have threads on here demanding a player be put on the transfer list during half time of a game... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzyB Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 Ach a bit of an over-reaction Stu! The title does say early thoughts, surely we're allowed to discuss the first impressions that we have on these players? I don't think that anyone has established any of the players as cult heroes, or "not good enough to play for us again". As for the 3rd paragraph, surely after ripping Flamurtari apart, and I mean literally ripping them apart, then a top six finish isn't beyond the realms of possibility? And I've not seen any posts saying our players are a bunch of wasters or that our defenders are 'terrible'. The 'poor crossing' is spot on, and you can't really disagree with that after our final ball on Thursday night. I think your post is a tad OTT, however if it was tongue in cheek, then kindly remove the fish hook from my cheek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 It was tongue in cheek, Gazzy, don't worry. Perhaps I was being a bit anal with the wording. To me, there's a big difference between "He'll no dae" and "Not really seen much from him so far, will be interesting to see if/when he improves". No offense meant by quoting you there, Frazzle. I think discussing the merits of the new signings is a great idea. It's what being a fan's all about. I'm happy to discuss who's looked good, who needs to lose weight, etc. Let's just wait before we make absolute definitive decisions on whether or not they're good players or not. Remember, a certain Fitzpatrick was considered a hero after a certain cup-tie. Wonder what ever happened to him... To get back on topic, Ruddy looks like he's got all the attributes to be a great keeper for us. I've not seen enough at all to comment on the other three, but I'm looking forward to finding out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelboy Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 it's no time to judge anyone yet. we've really no idea what the actual level of any of the teams we've been up against were. the boys looked like world beaters against the albanian's but i'm not sure i'd put money on flamutari beating pollock juniors. staeua looked great against us and might be full of guys who'll end up in serie a and la liga or maybe we just didn't compete in midfield and gave them time and space to play. we'll have a good idea after the first three games against st johnstone, killie and aberdeen but now it's impossible to say. first impressions are a different matter though. humphrey - not impressive at all so far. looks like he could be a very frustrating player. i'd have o'brien ahead of him at the minute. jennings - thought he was going to be a more mobile lasley, turns out he's a less mobile lasley just now. he was chasing shadows in a shaun faganesque manner in bucharest. if he gets the fitness up then i think he'll do a good job for us though. coke - showed a few good touched on the ball and looks promising. didn't seem to be the ideal man for the battle on thursday but he looks like he's got ability. ruddy - outstanding start, keep it up! kicking looks a bit sus tho, but we can live with that. and the youngsters since they might as well be new signings. slane - superb, i hope we don't end up depending on him too much but he looks outstanding. he struggled to get involved out wide in romania but was far better in the middle. forbes - i was excited about him after seeeing him at ayr a couple of years ago and in a few reserve games. it's obvious he has a wand of a left foot but he still has to prove he can compete in centre mid in the spl physically and to be able to play at the required tempo. his passing is definitely special, hopefully the rest of his game won't let him down. saunders - looks composed on the ball and very good in the air. the best thing we can do for him is to bring in a first choice right back and let him develop at his own pace. hutchison - he already looks the part physically, thursday night showed that he's got a lot of learning to do. he reminds me of stephen mcmanus a bit and is another one who will benefit most from a couple of seasons as back up to learn his trade rather than being thrown in straight away. mark reynolds at left back - not a fan. i don't think he's got good enough distribution to play fullback, it's telling craigan takes the free kicks from the back and not him (and back in the day craigan left them to partro). he might be handy if we need to nulify a right winger but i wouldn't want him there every week. for all the criticism of him and craigan as a partnership they must have a pretty decent record together. they played together all through the season we finished 3rd and we only lost six of the 25 domestic games they played together last season. to me that's impressive and gannon would be foolish to disregard it. we definitely need two new strikers and a right back and anyone else with a bit of quality who is available. also guys like hammell, lasley and o'brien shouldn't be marginalised too much as our squad is too small to lose guys who have done a good job in the spl previously (obviously in a smaller way with o'brien). i think these three guys are out of contract at the end of this season so if you add that to jennings and coke that's five out of contract next june plus ruddy only being signed for six months. the long term view has to be looked at as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweed Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 With the caveat that I have only seen the briefest of highlights of the Steaua game my initial thoughts: Ruddy - looks good enough for us Jennings - has good ball control and vision, maybe a bit slower than led to believe he would be but think he will be a steady Eddie in the SPL. I think he will improve the squad. Humphrey - looks quick, the way Flamurtari set themselves up in Airdrie they encouraged us to play down the other side, which we did well. Think he could have looked more lively in that game but he did a usefu job. Think he will be a good SPL player also. Coke - really not seen enough to pass constructive comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo Posted August 3, 2009 Report Share Posted August 3, 2009 we definitely need two new strikers and a right back and anyone else with a bit of quality who is available. also guys like hammell, lasley and o'brien shouldn't be marginalised too much as our squad is too small to lose guys who have done a good job in the spl previously (obviously in a smaller way with o'brien). i think these three guys are out of contract at the end of this season so if you add that to jennings and coke that's five out of contract next june plus ruddy only being signed for six months. the long term view has to be looked at as well. Good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAM Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 After watching last nights game - Ruddy - He'll do for us, kicking could be better but is commanding and much better than Fraser. Jennings - Still looks short of fitness and came across as a poor mans Neil Lennon with square balls all the time. Humphrey - Obviously has pace but needs to get beyond and get a cross in - will be interesting to see how he copes with the bullies in the SPL. Coke - Looked good and cruised through first half. Would like to see him get forward more. One thing I did note was he might be a little lippy having a go at the refs if he disagrees and given the refs in the SPL he may pick up a few un-needed cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Coke - Looked good and cruised through first half. Would like to see him get forward more. One thing I did note was he might be a little lippy having a go at the refs if he disagrees and given the refs in the SPL he may pick up a few un-needed cards. I think we can forgive him that for last night. That ref was disgraceful at times. Gannon has said before he has promoted fair play and Dundalk and Stockport and won the Fair Play award at both clubs, so I'd expct that we won't see our players harassing the ref's, much the same as last season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 After watching last nights game - Ruddy - He'll do for us, kicking could be better but is commanding and much better than Fraser. Jennings - Still looks short of fitness and came across as a poor mans Neil Lennon with square balls all the time. Humphrey - Obviously has pace but needs to get beyond and get a cross in - will be interesting to see how he copes with the bullies in the SPL. Coke - Looked good and cruised through first half. Would like to see him get forward more. One thing I did note was he might be a little lippy having a go at the refs if he disagrees and given the refs in the SPL he may pick up a few un-needed cards. Agree with most of that. Coke and Ruddy look the part for me thus far. Think they could be big players for us. Not been impressed with Humphries or Jennings yet. It is early days though, but I would have Lasley and O'Brien in their place everytime at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malky79 Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 After watching last nights game - Agree with most of that. Coke and Ruddy look the part for me thus far. Think they could be big players for us. Not been impressed with Humphries or Jennings yet. It is early days though, but I would have Lasley and O'Brien in their place everytime at the moment Have to agree with that. What concerns me is that Jennings was the first of the new signings to arrive, why looking so unfit? Humphrey got few decent balls in last night, a bit better and lookd like might come on to something in time but for moment prefer to see O'Brien playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazzie Posted August 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Humphrey got a couple of in-swingers in with his right foot after the was switched to the left, which is promising but, unfortunately, I just don't rate him at this stage. Coke was excellent last night - MotM for me. If he produces more of the same over the next couple of months, I'd like to see him put on a longer contract. Would need to see the second goal again before deciding if Ruddy was at fault but, that aside, he's looked very competant for us so far, with a couple of excellent stops too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malky79 Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Don't think he at fault, watched it a few minutes ago and ok it dipped over him but was only a step or two off his line and the shot fair fizzed and swerved at pace. Wasn't a lazy loop and he caught out, just a belter of a hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammyget Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Thought Coke was superb last night, my own personal MOM. As stated in another thread though I think Humphreys looks a bit slow for a winger, seemed to be 5 yds short of where you'd expect him to be. Good skills though,first touch, control etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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