joewarkfanclub

Well, thats us reached the international break and we have taken 5 points from the last 9 with 2 of the 3 games being away from home. Some will say we are only 4 points off bottom, but we are also 4 points off 5th. For me Alfred has steadied the ship and although he is far from out the woods, any immediate pressure regarding his position has been released. Some might still not be having him, and thats fair enough. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But Alfred isnt getting sacked this side of Xmas now.

Hoping Alfred has learned his lesson from the Celtic game and doesnt show Rangers too much respect. If we are as passive as the Celtic game we will be soundly beaten. However, if we get in their faces and put them under pressure we will get some joy. They have got some good players, but they are far from the finished article and their confidence can be somewhat fragile. Id like to see us go more solid in midfield with Oscar, Fadinger and Hodge all starting. We need workrate and endeavour and I dont think Kanga is there yet (absolutely fine as an impact sub). Be interesting to see if Lowry is back, albeit that might present more selection issues.

You've formed your opinion, and thats fair enough. I was getting to the officially "concerned" stage after the Celtic game. That was so bad you would have to be delusional to see any good in it. However, there has been steady improvement in the last few weeks, so I cant agree that we are "still pish." We are far from the finished article and there is still much to improve upon. But there is clear evidence for me that the squad are still together, playing for the manager and taking on board his coaching. A striker that can score goals would help as we do create a lot of chances, but we are stuck with what we have until January, or JT finds any form.

Hodge for me. Has looked much more confident and assured the last couple of weeks. Loved seeing him drive into midfield with purpose. Honorable mentions for Fadinger, Sparrow, Said and Girdwood-Reich.

Decent away performance and a good point. Thought the first half was end to end and very even. Both teams had lots if chances so 1-1 at half time just about right. Thought United edged the second half. They showed a bit more quality on the ball and created the better chances. Agree, the subs were weird. Said was doing fine and Fadinger was playing well. Can only assume Fadinger did pick up a knock as it makes no sense otherwise. Early days for Hendry on his return from injury, but he has already reminded me why I hadnt missed him. I really wouldnt have him on the field at the same time as SPH or Eythor. One of any of them is plenty. Overall, pretty pleased with the point, but moreso the performance. The passivity is gone and we look far more comfortable with what we are trying to do. It appears talk of Alfreds demise may have been premature.

The white Pony "floodlight" shirt is a belter. One of my all time favourites!

Would be great if he can start. Absolutely no question he improves us. I guess it depends on how Alfred sees the midfield going forward. Is there room for Fadinger, Hodge & Oscar in the engine room? Id like to see it given a go. Should make us more difficult to play through. I agree in that line up McGhee seems a natural replacement for Oscar. Kanga for Maswanhise later on unless he is on a hat-trick! 😍

Dont think Oscar will start. Much as I would like it. Alfred was very clear that the returnees would be phased in. Whether that refers to all of them or not, I dont know. But Id be surprised. Another 30 minutes from the bench, couple good weeks training and he might be good to go after the break.

This was my fear for Lennon going to Udinese. Too much coming and going of managers. No stability. No real chance to develop. I hope things settle down for him and it doesnt slow him down too much. But I have my doubts.

Welcome! I think the players generally arrive around 1pm for a 3pm ko. They park up the end of Fir Park St, so your best bet is to hang around outside the main entrance to the Phil O'Donnell Stand and you should meet most of them coming in there. The players are usually pretty good about stopping for autographs/selfies. If you contact the club/Well Society directly they might be able to make more specific arrangements for you.

I kinda get that Jake is our player and JKL is a loan player, so we probably want to give priority to developing Jake as there is money in it for us. However, you still need to win football matches and when you go 6 defeats on the bounce conceding goals for fun, you think he might have been given a chance. Now we have a win and a clean sheet, I suspect it might become even more difficult for him to get game time. Of course, there is always the possibility the manager see's something different in training that has caused him to stick with Jake / Moorman.

For me Jake is the only CB we have that really seems to like a tackle and he is probably the best in the air. I thought Moorman was gonna be in that mould, but he really seems to have dropped off from the start of the season. Not sure if thats just a confidence thing or not. JKL looks the most comfortable with the ball at his feet and coming out from the back. Not really seen any evidence of physicality, albeit from a smaller sample size. McGinn certainly adds experience, as would McGhee, but Im not sure either of them are that physical either. I think your previous observations about the defence getting protection from the midfield are probably on point. We didnt seem to need to be that physical last season and that was with a backline of supposed right backs at times. I think if we get the balance of the team better in midfield and get back to controlling games a little better the physical aspect of the game will be less of a issue.

Looking forward to seeing how we fare against an 11 man Dundee United and finding out if Goodwin really has become a convert to The Church of Jens. If he has, we might be able to get some joy up top. But will we be able to keep the door shut at the back? Could be an interesting game. Would shake hands on a draw right now. But back to back wins would be a pretty nice feeling going into the break.

Maybe Alfred needs to do a Jens and go without a recognised striker? Problem with that is he would have to give up going long, unless it is the ball over the top for Maswanhise to chase.

Vigurs was a talented footballer. His problem was the desire to be one. No hunger, no fight. When the going got tough, he went missing. But then, I guess thats why someone with his ability was with us in the first place and not playing at a higher level.