Jump to content

Pre-Season Friendlies


something else
 Share

Recommended Posts

The vast majority of them, no I'm not a fan....I think International football has become a farce because of the daft eligibility rules and the mercenaries who exploit them.

 

The ones who i would deem to be exempt from your list would be;

 

Maloney - he was born in Malaysia, but to Scottish parents and brought up in Scotland

Russell Martin - got a Scottish dad

Fletcher - got a Scottish mother and brought up in Scotland

McCall - got a Scottish Father

 

The likes of Gilks, Boyd, Morrison, Phillips and Bridcutt are English, were English, wanted to play for England and probably still do, just like Sullivan, Gould, Elliott and Scott fucking Dobie before them.

 

The Granny rule, the residency rule and the schooling rule makes a total mockery of International Football in my opinion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Left thinking the kid Thomas will get crowds off their seats, been a while since I've thought that about one of our prospects. Be interesting to see how his future pans out, given there is no compensation clause like some of the sycophants on here would have you believe. It's felt he needs to develop his defensive side before being considered ready,

 

You do know the compensation clause info came directly from the Board at a Well Society meeting?

 

Nope, why would they? Was this minuted? Not exactly Society business I would have thought... Anyroads, some not singing from the same hymn sheet as Mr McCall said last night 'we'll pay it' to others :umbrage:

 

If it helps offer any clarity as to where the topic of compensation/fees over Dom Thomas arose you might well be able to pin that one on me.

 

It wasn't actually a Well Society meeting but the club's AGM 2014 back in February where it was mentioned in passing by Stuart McCall in answer to a question about prospects in our youth set up. What I noted at the time was...

 

Also noted that we apparently owe Celtic a fee if Dom Thomas plays 5 first team games.

 

Despite what has been speculated over since there was never any mention of what the fee was or the merest hint, as appears to be backed up by Onthefringes anlaysis above, that he was being denied first team action because a fee was due.

 

No more, or less than that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So not the greatest result in the world but as we all know actual results and performances in pre-seasons can have little bearing on how things go when the action starts for real.

 

In terms of our readiness for Thursday I'd say it was a good final fixture to have before it. Fulham had more than enough about them to win fairly comfortably and their ability ensured we were tested on and off throughout the ninety testing both the concentration and fitness levels of the players.

 

At the same time we were by no means completely under the cosh and were able, on a few occasions, to build moves of our own. There was just nothing at all clinical about us when those chances, or even half chances came.

 

Performance wise Twardzik looked as capable as he did whilst on loan but made a complete mess of their second goal. Pleasing to see him recover sufficiently to pull off three good saves after that. It's perhaps the worst possible thing we wanted to see on the debut of our new keeper after the edginess of last season though.

 

Law appeared to take a few minutes to adjust to the pace of things but I thought looked eager throughout the second half.

 

I was quite heartened towards the end when the likes of Thomas, Cadden, Erwin and Leitch were all on. All of them were trying to play football and were keen to get on the ball. So they should be of course, but you know what I mean, there was no fear that they were up against some players worth £xm or anything. They wanted the ball and wanted to play. Encouraging.

 

Credit to the 249 Fulham fans who were there and in particular their new number four. A very classy way to make your return and say your farewells and Hutchy was fully deserving of the standing ovations and chants that came his way.

 

On to Thursday then!!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought, howler aside, Twardzik had a very good game. He was quick and brave off his line, great distribution with the ball at his feet and he made at least three cracking saves in the 2nd half.

 

We played some alright stuff without any real pace or intensity to any of the moves. Was great to see Thomas get a lot of game time, even though it sadly came at the expense of losing Angol. Good to see him demanding the ball and always looking to make things happen. Still rough around the edges but you can see his raw talent. Also good to see so many of our own youth players on the pitch at once near the end, some promising talent coming through.

 

Not sure where Law was supposed to be playing, his running style is creepily similar to that of his brothers and after a slow start he showed some nice touches like him too. Interesting that Lawson and Cummins couldn't even get in the squad. Injured or just not in McCall's plans?

 

Anyway a decent run out against good opposition in preparation for Thursday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How did McHugh look?

 

Is anyone else concerned we head into a massive game on Thursday with only Sutton as our only recognised and capable striker?! And even then it has long since been noted that he can't play as a lone striker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How did McHugh look?

 

Is anyone else concerned we head into a massive game on Thursday with only Sutton as our only recognised and capable striker?! And even then it has long since been noted that he can't play as a lone striker.

 

Tell SMc that. Played him as a lone striker second half.

 

McHugh looked ok, looks to have slimmed right down and had a couple of half chances.

 

But yes our lack of striking options and pace is concerning me

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think both teams could have stepped it up a few gears if needed. Fulham were clearly the better side though. Dom Thomas looked good but it's always hard to judge in friendlies.

 

Good to see Hutchy acknowledging the fans, although it did get a bit sycophantic towards the end.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How did McHugh look?

 

Is anyone else concerned we head into a massive game on Thursday with only Sutton as our only recognised and capable striker?! And even then it has long since been noted that he can't play as a lone striker.

 

He looked like he's always looked, a first division striker!!

 

I am annoyed with the Clarkson position, he's sitting on the bench as a trialist with Killie when he wants to be a Fir Park! (feedback from a connected party) I would have thought some of our finances from the Anier deal could have freed up some cash for him.

 

We need someone urgently to support Sutton as Erwin is just a big raw boy!! Young Thomas looked capable and enthusiastic today, a number of first team games and some work on his strength he may well have a good future. Law looked very average. The keeper had a total howler for the goal but apart from that I actually thought he played very well.

 

Tough game to be fair today as Fulham have some excellent players, their number 3 was the best full back ive seen in years, No-one could get past him!! and big Hutch looked solid, good luck to him down there!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How did McHugh look?

 

Is anyone else concerned we head into a massive game on Thursday with only Sutton as our only recognised and capable striker?! And even then it has long since been noted that he can't play as a lone striker.

 

He got 45 minutes in a very low intensity friendly. He was no better or no worse than most of the players who never got further than 2nd gear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Clarkson situation really annoys me too but McCall has decided not to go with him so what can you do? I'm hoping that the quote "too similar to what we already have" is code for "no better than what we already have" and if Clarky has lost form/ability to the extent he is no better than McHugh then he's not worth signing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tell SMc that. Played him as a lone striker second half.

 

McHugh looked ok, looks to have slimmed right down and had a couple of half chances.

 

But yes our lack of striking options and pace is concerning me

 

There is a Line Ups thread on Pie and Bovril at the moment and in it I wrote that I expected us to play Ainsworth behind Sutton and have Fraser Kerr at right midfield.

 

However today we went with Ainsworth at right midfield and McHugh and Sutton up front in the first half.

 

You have to assume our starting line up today is how it will be on Thursday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why are a couple of posters on here upset at the Clarkson situation.

 

I liked Clarky when he was here BUT if the manager feels there are better options then I am more than happy with that.

 

I would rather go with his view of things than a couple of posters on here who have obviously studied Clarky at close quarters over the past week and a half.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

McCall explains the reason for the DC decision. Having watched the game earlier you can see where he's coming from.

 

 

Motherwell manager Stuart McCall has decided against offering David Clarkson a Fir Park return.

 

Having been released by Bristol Rovers at the end of last season Clarkson has been training with the Steelmen over the past few weeks in the hope of earning a deal for the 2014/15 campaign.

 

But after travelling with the rest of the Motherwell squad for their training camp in Portugal, McCall has decided not to offer Clarkson, who spent seven years at Fir Park, a permanent deal.

 

Instead McCall is looking for a more direct replacement for Henrik Ojaama and Henri Anier, who were sold in each of the last two summers.

 

McCall said: "David is no longer with us. He trained well and is a decent lad, but he's not exactly what we're looking for.

 

"We're looking for someone with pace to go in beyond, someone like Ojaama and Anier."

 

Clarkson started his career with Motherwell between 2002 and 2009, making over 160 appearances for the club.

 

A free agent since leaving Bristol Rovers at the end of last season, he has also played for Brentford and Bristol City.

 

McCall was speaking as Motherwell suffered a 2-0 home defeat in their final friendly before their Europa League opener.

 

Fulham's £11m signing Ross McCormack made his debut against his former club.

 

Cameron Burgess opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a free header from a corner and home goalkeeper Dan Twardzik fumbled a second-half strike from Konstantinos Stafylidis over his line.

 

The summer signing from Dundee recovered to make some decent late saves, including a diving stop from McCormack, who played 90 minutes alongside fellow former Motherwell player Shaun Hutchinson.

 

Zaine Francis-Angol went off with a tight hamstring 10 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute for Motherwell, who host Icelandic side Stjarnan in the Europa League at Fir Park on Thursday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fairly uneventful game today. As a few other folk have mentioned, neither side seemed particularly keen to commit themselves, which is no bad thing considering our game on Thursday. Fulham were never really threatened, although we did have a few moments through the centre where we managed to look a little bit creative. Vigurs looks to have got a wee bit faster over the close season, but the first half really showed how much a genuine left winger would strengthen us.

 

The younger guys looked good when they came on, Dom Thomas and Jack Leitch in particular. I was surprised by how big Erwin looked, seemed to have a bit of a touch as well so interesting to see how he'll develop over the season, could be a big one for him.

 

I actually forgot McHugh was playing - we could really do with a bit of a creative spark to compliment Sutton. Although Faddy didn't really offer a huge amount last season, at least there was someone who could potentially kickstart something, don't see a great many players in that mould at the club just now other than Vigurs.

 

The Clarkson chat is baffling. He was a great player with us the first time round, but I think our experience with Faddy has perhaps made us a wee bit wiser in terms of taking old players back. I would have taken the Clarkson that left us, but not now. Sadly, whether he wants to come back or not, we can't really use up a wage on someone that won't really improve us at all. As per usual, it'll be someone totally random that we've never heard of.

 

EDIT: Apologies to anyone who had a near miss from a dummy or children's book - 2 year old's first time today!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a Line Ups thread on Pie and Bovril at the moment and in it I wrote that I expected us to play Ainsworth behind Sutton and have Fraser Kerr at right midfield.

 

However today we went with Ainsworth at right midfield and McHugh and Sutton up front in the first half.

 

You have to assume our starting line up today is how it will be on Thursday.

 

Think you might be right with that one tbh. The thought of Kerr at RM though gives me the fear!!! He's a centre half or right back never a right mid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Should be Kerr centre half and Ramsden right back. Feel for Clarkson,never exactly my highest rated player but no-one deserves to be called no better than Boab McHugh, that guy is barely a footballer nevermind a striker

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...