David

Exactly. If Shaw managed to turn the corner and start scoring as well? Happy days for sure.

As harsh as it might sound, you must be able to deal with stick when you're a footballer at any reasonable level. It's going to be coming at you at some point. Messi, Maradona, and Ronaldo have been criticised over the years. It happens to the best of them. How they deal with it will determine how successful they go on to be. Bair has taken the stick and the doubts about his ability and worked hard regardless, rising above it.

Well, he had spent an entire season previously in our league, playing over thirty games and accomplishing pretty much the same as he had previously in his career, save for a stint in the lower leagues of Norway. Absolutely nothing of note. So, the stick was entirely warranted. I'm sure he'd admit that. But just as much as the stick was warranted on his numbers before signing for us, so is the praise he's getting now. It works both ways.

Do you know what kind of striker scores all of those chances, though? Erling Haaland. The thing is, he is putting away almost 1 in 3, but the most important stat is his goals-per-game ratio. 0.3 goals per game, so almost a 1 in 3 ratio. That's almost the exact same as Kyogo, Luis Palma, and Cyriel Dessers this season, and is better than Maeda. That's a remarkable stat considering his previous season at St Johnstone was laughable in terms of goals per game. If you're looking for a striker who has a ratio of scoring 1 in 3 chances, then you're really looking at elite level strikers. I don't agree. I think the fact he's getting chances and scoring them of late is really all we can ask. Anyone who's saying, "Yeah, well, he scored five in his last four or whatever is fine, but he should be scoring three goals per game", is mental.

100%. Bair should see a fair amount of success against Morton. Let's hope he can convert some of the chances.

That was the main criticism of him when he arrived, and it was my primary concern. Up until this season, he didn't look like a striker. His xG and so on suggested that he simply did not get into the positions that strikers need to get into. All credit goes to Kettlewell and the coaching team, who have given him simple instructions to follow, which are proving effective. You'll notice that his chances all kind of look similar, which is why he's scoring. He's still incredibly limited but has the sheer athleticism and size to allow him to take advantage of those limited abilities. Basically, focus on what you can do, make sure you do it very well, and forget what you can't because at the age he's at now, he's likely not going to develop those skills anyway. An example would be his running in behind the defence. We saw him do that multiple times last night. It's a simple enough instruction, but it takes someone with size and speed to carry it out. It also requires a level of defensive intelligence and physical ability to stop, and we don't see that much in the Scottish league. I'm sure Bair would run into issues at a higher level, but that doesn't matter to us.

It also means that if Obika can stay fit (a huge if), then we're well served in that area. Plus, Kettlewell's plan at the start of the season of getting goals from midfield is working just fine. 9 goals from Spittal, 3 from Slattery, 2 from Miller and 1 from Paton. Slattery is gone, but we've now got Halliday and Nicholson, plus Davor is getting a run in the team. Add in the fact that the likes of Mugabi are always good for a goal or three, and we're okay in that area, I think. Most teams that run into proper relegation problems are the sides that find it difficult to score goals. With that said, the statistics show that we've scored double the number of goals that Livingston and St Johnstone have, and scored more goals than Aberdeen, Ross County, Hibs, Dundee, St Mirren, and Killie. On goals conceded, it's a different matter, but as I said, you generally find that the teams who run into relegation issues are the ones who can't score.

At this stage it's clear that Bair is the first choice (and rightfully so), with Vale pushing for that position as well. Having Shaw back as an extra body? I wouldn't be against it. He'd be the third choice for sure unless he proved us wrong.

Not quite.

Nah, he knew exactly where he was coming to. He didn't leave us because he arrived at Fir Park to be dismayed at how we were playing. He left because he got a chance to test himself and get some more experience at a higher level.

True, he was likely under the impression that he was coming to Fir Park to play total football, with a wee bit of tika taka on the side, right? Sold a bill of goods for sure.

Bang on. A win provides some breathing room. A defeat would drag us right into the play-off battle. Neither result would define our season as yet, but it's pretty clear which option we'd all prefer.

Your post was fine, there was no personal attack. You posted your opinion, which is perfectly acceptable. Not everyone is going to agree with each other, but as long as it's kept within a certain level of respect and decent discussion then there isn't a problem. This is a football forum. It's going to get heated, and there will be a robust exchange of views. The admin and moderators keep an eye on what's being said, and if it crosses the line we deal with it.

Because the people in charge of the club don't think Van Veen was worth the outlay. We offered what we deemed to be what he's worth. Other clubs decided to offer more.

The same mob who are taking back Montgomery and have seemingly agreed to waive our obligation to pay a percentage of his wages until he's fully fit again? I mean, I know they're the nasty enemy, but I don't think they're at the level where they'd try to do us out of what we're legally owed.

I don't think it was as bad as some do, but I don't see much rhyme or reason to our signings. I'm sure the manager was keen on bringing players in, but beyond handing the recruitment team his requirements, I don't know if there's much more he can do. It's not his job to sift through the available players on the market and ring their agent or parent club. It's his job to identify where we need players and then coach the team he's given.

If you see something that you feel oversteps the line, report it. We don't always catch everything.

I seriously doubt it. I've worked with marketing firms in London for public transport campaigns that didn't cost that much. After the transfer window we've had, I can't really blame them. I doubt we're the only club whose fans will be pissed off, though. A certain team from the east end of Glasgow springs to mind. To each their own I guess. I've posted a few times over there, but a forum with only one thread on Motherwell doesn't hold much appeal for me. I actually prefer it here. And even our regular moaners tend to at least have a coherent reason for their thinking, even if I don't agree with them often.

We didn't spend a "fortune" on that video.

A few points there worth addressing: 1. I don't think we're "financially flagging" at all. In fact, we seem to be in a relatively good space financially. Now, that doesn't mean we can sustain ourselves as a top-flight club. It could become the case that we can't do that with the financial restrictions we're working under. But that doesn't mean we're "financially flagging". It just means we're not as financially well-off as those around us. 2. As someone else has said, we don't know if we couldn't match what Killie and St Mirren were offering or if we just didn't see the value in it. The whole thing had a bit of a bidding war about it, and I definitely believe that Killie paid over the odds if the numbers being bandied about are true. 3. I don't know if we look "poorly coached" either. We're certainly not at our best this season, but we're 9th in the league. I could understand the crying and panic if we were in the position Livi are in, but we're not.

No they won't. He'll maybe get a wee round of applause when he warms up, but he'll certainly not get cheered if he scores against us, for example.

Far be it for me to defend or champion the cause of the people you're talking about, but the world would be boring if we all agreed. Or, it would be like a Twitter feed—an echo chamber. Most people here bring something to the discussion, and everyone adds value in their own way. But the call is yours to make. Hopefully, we'll see you back at some point.

Jim Gannon, Stuart McCall, Mark McGhee (1st spell) and Craig Brown were all pre-fan ownership when the club was different. We've really only had Robinson, Alexander, Hammell and Kettlewell in the current era.

so you believe the entire recruitment process sits squarely with the club manager? Interesting.

In most cases, yes, that's how it works. The question most would have is did Kettlewell specifically ask Nick Daws for players in the positions we signed this window? If so, it may raise some questions as to why the manager has seen those particular positions as a requirement. However, and I believe this to be the most likely scenario, the manager has asked for players in a number of positions, and the recruitment team wasn't able to identify suitable targets in those areas, or they managed to and the club couldn't get the deals over the line. The question then has to be, is whoever is negotiating the deals on behalf of the club up to the task? Or has the recruitment department not been aligned on what we can afford as a club regarding playing targets? A lot of variables, and without being inside the club, there's little way of knowing which it actually is. All I can tell from the outside looking in is that there's no distinct pattern or trend in the signings we make, which is why I question how analytics are being used. They are more than likely being utilised in some way, but how that is, I don't know.