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Makings Of A Very Good Team


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I disagree, I actually think Stevie Hammell has improved since his time at Southend. He is much more dangerous and doesn't seem to be getting caught out of position as much. When he left for Southend he was having his worst season with us, I seem to recall a lot of fans were not too fussed about him leaving.

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We only got 250k for Stepover and Hammell cost about 110k I believe. Paterson turned out to be a revelation at fullback for us, but it was a bit of a fluke. To me we didn't know a good thing until it was gone when Hammell left as wee Murphy was rotten. Hammell has had his ups and downs, as everyone in our team will do, but like everyone else has been playing well lately. We are Motherwell remember. Anyone who is truly outstanding above and beyond the call week in week out doesn't stay with us for long!

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We only got 250k for Stepover and Hammell cost about 110k I believe. Paterson turned out to be a revelation at fullback for us, but it was a bit of a fluke. To me we didn't know a good thing until it was gone when Hammell left as wee Murphy was rotten. Hammell has had his ups and downs, as everyone in our team will do, but like everyone else has been playing well lately. We are Motherwell remember. Anyone who is truly outstanding above and beyond the call week in week out doesn't stay with us for long!

 

Exactly. Hammell thought he was when he got his season in the Championship. But when Southend were relegated he soon found the grass wasn't so green on the other side.

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After the dismal run we had i think the whole team has improved and maybe that's because they are high in confidence again. We have a real good bunch of players here, by no means any worse than teams like Dundee Utd, Hearts and Aberdeen etc have. We work with a smaller wage budget, basically live on free transfers and loans and we can still compete with them all.

 

Individually, Smith has been the same all season. He's a consistent enough performer and a team like us we should be grateful to have a good keeper. We haven't been blessed with great goalkeepers over the year but Smith is certainly up top with the one's i've seen.

 

Quinn can still improve. If you look at Hammell as a full back he'll get up and down the wings and can do that all day long. Like some of you have said previously in the thread he's created a few of our goals in the past 5 games. That's something Quinn has to work on as his distribution is awful. How many balls were wasted by this guy in the last 20 mins or so on Saturday when we were looking for that goal to get the three points. Other than that i think Quinn is defencivly sound unlike Hammell.

 

We know Reynolds can do it as we've all saw in the last 2 seasons. Just needs to work on some things and i'm sure Craggs can lead the way of doing so.

 

Going on to the midfield i think our strongest 3 is Hughes, Klimpl and Fitzy. Hughes, when on top of his game can be brilliant but sometimes the guy just frustrates me with half hearted tackles and simply just not enough effort. Fitzy gives us the much needed balance in our midfield being a left footed player. He does a great job and has the ability to break down attacks and start attacks. I just wish folk would get off the guys back.

 

Our front three are gelling well. After the loss of McCormack (midway through last season) it was basically a Clarky Porter strikeforce. Both players seem to compliment each other and i would say it's one of the best strikeforce's in the SPL. O'Brien has took over from McCormack and has finally got on to a game and has done a fantastic job. Altho he may not score the goals McCormack scored for us he's brilliant for beating a man down the wing and getting the ball into the box. Something we've missed for years, a winger.

 

Where does that leave McGarry, Boab, Lasley, Murphy, Smith and Sutton then. Out of these 6 i think there's only 3 players that are good enough. Lasley we all know can be a first team player but Klimpl is doing a better job than him in the midfield. Murphy has the potential to become a good player for us in the future but i think we shouldn't hype the guy up too much or maybe expect too much from him. Sutton, to be perfectly honest, i think the guys gash but can still maybe score a goal or two for us.

 

For the other three i think we should give Smith another season at the club and maybe try and loan him out for the rest of this season to get some games under his belt. McGarry and Boab just ain't good enough, waste of wages and never fit to play a full 90 minutes every week. Time to offload them.

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How can anyone make a case for Darren Smith. He's just not SPL standard.

 

Go on, disagree.

 

Well he's never had an extended run of starts and he is still a very young player, I think I'm right in saying he was only just 17 when he made his debut.

 

I'm not going to say Darren Smith is the greatest player in the world but he's a big lad with a good physical presence, has pace and a decent record in front of goals.

 

I think he's worth his place in the squad, as for proving himself as a first team player, he's never really had the chance.

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Exactly. Hammell thought he was when he got his season in the Championship. But when Southend were relegated he soon found the grass wasn't so green on the other side.

 

I don't think Hammell thought he was. I certainly don't think he moved as he saw himself as being a brilliant player or too good for us. I can see why he'd choose a move. Just like anyone who works in one place for a good number of years a change of scenery can be good!!

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The gaffer was quoted as saying there was nothing magical about the change in form, everyone's effort has remained the same, just the fact they can now play and 11 aside game in training has made the difference for them as opposed to before when they could only play 5 aside.

 

I think with Sutton, MMcG is doing the same as he did with O'Brien, there is raw talent but he's giving him coaching to turn him into Porter MK2.

 

Dairylees is frustrating to watch most of the time and still has some way to improve.

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Well he's never had an extended run of starts and he is still a very young player, I think I'm right in saying he was only just 17 when he made his debut.

 

I'm not going to say Darren Smith is the greatest player in the world but he's a big lad with a good physical presence, has pace and a decent record in front of goals.

 

I think he's worth his place in the squad, as for proving himself as a first team player, he's never really had the chance.

 

Agree whole heartedly with this, most of the comments re Darren Smith in this thread are exactly the same as those questioning the signing of J O'Brien until he was given a few consecutive starts and started to show some form.

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If it was up to me I'd allow Malcolm and McGarry to leave, keep Maros, Shug and Buzz plus bring in another defender, midfielder and a striker to replace Ports. Ideally a squad size of 20 plus the youngsters would be perfect for us.

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I think people are missing the main point when talking about Hammel - he is a completely different type of player to the one that left us two years ago! For a start he has lost at least a stone, and seems to have a much higher fitness level. The fact is you cannot compare the two comings of Hammel...

 

In his first spell round he was known for his strength and power in the tackle. While he wasn't that quick off the mark, he was like a battering ram once he got up to full speed. He could hit a ball with a real venom, but a varying level of accuracy! He was a solid full back.

 

On his return, he was quicker and more agile. He technique has come on leaps and bounds, and he has sacrificed his ball striking power in favour of accuracy - which IMHO is one of the best deliveries in the League, with maybe only Nakamura and Robson having a better left footed delivery. Having played a few times in midfield for Southend, and the difference in technical demands down south, I would now class Hammell a wing back.

 

Yes he may have less of a positional sense than he did his first time round, but he is much more effective further up the park. I have said this before and will say it again, I think Hammel would be perfect for Left Mid with Reynolds moving out to left back - maybe kick-start his season.

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As for the other players, I definitely think we are seeing a vast improvement from the majority of players. Klimpl has been a true revelation since moving to midfield, Clarkson is looking hungry again and Porter is starting to hit the net again.

 

However, I think two of our best players from last season – Reynolds and Hughes – are the ones who we need the improvement from if we have any chance of making 3rd.

 

With regards to the other players mentioned...

 

DLS can maybe do a job for us, but I agree with the earlier post to Loan him out so he can gain experience and define what position best suits him.

 

As mentioned before, there is no problem with Sutton - just that he is behind in the pecking order.

 

McGarry - should only be used as an impact player as his energy levels aren't what they were last season. From the bench he could give us a good 20mins or so.

 

Jamie Murphy is a real talent and I expect us to see this next season. There has been a lot of hype over him, and maybe the pressure has got to him. I agree with McGhee using him as a late sub.

 

Big Bad Boab - don't get the hatred many fans have of him. While I accept he is very slow, his passing is excellent, prob the best in the squad, and we all know bout his set pieces. I think he is a good player to have in the squad, although I agree that I'd like to see his wages go to securing Klimpl.

 

Jim O'Brien has come good - and remembering seeing him at Dunfermline, I always thought he could offer us something. I hope he continues to build on his teamwork skills and I'm sure he'll become an important player for us over the next few years.

 

I have been one of his biggest critics, but Craggs has really shown his worth to the team since his return. His presence is invaluable, and while I hate his insistence on humping the ball up the park and out of play every time he's got it, he makes the team tick and is vital to our ambitions this season.

 

One player not mentioned on this thread to often is Keef! IMHO he has been the best player for us this season! Maybe in with a shout of Well player of the year in my eyes!

 

The rest of the squad are doing ok and I hope to see more from them in the second half of the season.

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My comments on Smith are from first hand experience. If he got a contract with Motherwell then i'm pretty sure plenty of folk I played with could have got one.

 

In saying that I have a relative who is apparently shite but has some how managed to play with West Ham, St.Johnstone and Liverpool in that order.

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However, I think two of our best players from last season – Reynolds and Hughes – are the ones who we need the improvement from if we have any chance of making 3rd.

I would have to say that our best two players last season were Porter and Clarkson. I would also probably put Quinn and possibly McCormack ahead of the two you mentioned last season...

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I would have to say that our best two players last season were Porter and Clarkson. I would also probably put Quinn and possibly McCormack ahead of the two you mentioned last season...

 

 

I completely agree with regards to McCormack - he was excellent for us last season and by far our best player. He brought out the best in Porter and Clarkson - as can be clearly seen from this season with them not hitting the same return, while Cradiff are reaping the benefits of Rosco. Yes they were very good, as was quinn - you would struggle to find a player to critise from last season IMHO. But for me Hughes and Reynolds were the to consistently top perfomers. Shuggies creative drive was the catalyst for last season, and Reynolds built on previous seasons by having a terrific year for us and drawing the attention of Rangers.

 

At the end of last season, which players do you think we could realistically got £1m + for? We know Reynolds for sure with the Rangers interest. The only other one for me was Stepehen Hughes?

 

So therefore I think they were our two top players from an very much on fire squad. But the point I was making is that they are not hitting the same levels as last year, especially Reynolds who has had one to many uncharacterist shakey performances.

 

Still, that said...both are still vitals players for the squad and I hope they take momentum from the teams recent revival to pick up their individual games.

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Much like Frazza i have been on a football pitch with Daz before, primarily through the BBs, he made a big impact in the Malpas season, did well when asked to last year, but this year hasn't done very much, mainly because he hasnt had the chance. 5s are very different to 11s in the SPL

 

fixed that for you, played football not likely! :-)

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