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Season 2020’21: Game 29: St Johnstone (H)


Andy_P
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1 hour ago, Ped_MFC said:

The situation with Gallagher highlights one of the biggest problems we've had this season, a complete lack of leadership on and off the pitch. I know Hartley was probably finished at our level and making mistakes that cost us goals (the first half of the St Mirren Cup game leaps to mind)  and that it was probably the right time for him to leave. Having said that, we could really have done with a captain that could bring some leadership to the team on the pitch this season.  We have lacked it all over the park.

Gallagher hasn't shown he has that on the pitch and this whole contract nonsense (if true, and I have no reason to doubt ML1's info) has shown a total disregard for the club. Dont know the guy and have no contacts within the club, but it appears that his run in the Scotland team has given him a bit of a Billy Bigbaws attitude, happy to sit out games when he is needed most just to so he can breach a contract that he was happy to sign in 2019.

 

It's Burrows fault for putting such a daft contract in front of him that always had the potential to backfire rather than just offering a three year deal. 

Apparently Gallagher was represented by his father when signing for us but has an agent now. Burrows obviously thought he was getting one over them but now it's came back and bit him on the arse. 

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Watching GA's post match interview, what strikes me is that he has aged somewhat over the last month. I think I would be placed in the happy clapper camp because I tend to argue for the managers we have. This comes from a base point of recognising how tough it is to be a manager at any football club but particularly a club like Motherwell. I think the strain on GA's face tells it's own story there. Replacing managers is not an easy fix. 

My other main reason for generally backing managers is that I am no fan of player power. The Gannon saga was mentioned a few pages back and whilst I will admit to losing the argument then regarding Gannon being a decent manager, I still believe that something was rotten then regarding one or two of the senior players behaviour. Possibly the same could be said about Baraclough's last month in charge.

It lightning striking again? Possibly. We will never know the full story but again the current situation has a stench about it that is becoming an all to familiar theme at Motherwell. For my money this squad of players are more than capable of staying in this division and since the first ball was kicked in August, they have constantly underachieved. I have said a good few times before that in August, I don't think I heard anybody on this board saying we had a poor squad of players, infact, it was quite the opposite.

If Declan Gallagher is refusing to play for contract reasons then I don't think we have to look any further for reasons why all is not well in the dressing room. If your club captain is refusing to play it is bound reflect in the other players. Given however that this is sheer speculation I am going to assume for now that he is genuinely injured and will be back soon.

Looking at the positives, it is always small margins between success and failure as this particular team has shown repeatedly this season. As it stands we have two Scotland internationalists who we must assume, will be highly motivated to play in the Euro's this summer. This has to be to Motherwell's advantage no matter what else may be going on in the background. A rested invigorated Alan Campbell would also make a big difference to this team. I also believe that if Christopher Long could score a few goals we would have a transformed striker on our hands. I believe his issues lie in a lack of confidence  rather than any inherent poor attitude. The enigma for me is Polworth? A good player who is visibly showing signs of being in the huff. Get him switched on and suddenly the team looks strong again. It is the very, very difficult job of a Motherwell manager to get all the pieces of the jigsaw in place. 

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1 hour ago, Shaka said:

We cant afford to be this cuddly wee club thats everybodys pal.

We have had previous for that in recent years, Andy Rose for instance was allowed to move to the MLS mid season and it was his old American side that would benefit with a fee for his services and the same with Pearson in regards to his move to India before he returned looking injured, if players don't want to commit then just don't sign them. I know its all hear say about Gallagher's situation but I do find it strange that he was an ever present for the side but an injury occurs just before the match in which he would initiate a contract extension.

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Sorry, I'm struggling to see any positives. 

If there's player power in action, how are we gonnae fix that? They've seen Robinson off, Lasley was gone in 90 minutes, now Alexander's struggling. 

If - and it beggars belief - everything's rosy, we're dealing with an entire team of injured/ill players (half of whom we've no real clue when they'll return), another team that's clearly not up to the job and a bunch of January signings, who are either dross or MIA. There's nothing to suggest any of our 'problem' players are likely to suddenly find new form or attitudes at this late stage, and there's nowhere left to turn.

Same with the manager. Alexander only needs to keep us up, no one expects anymore now, but we don't expect anything less either. If some of the squad, especially the ones we really need, aren't performing for him, he's screwed. And if he persists with tactics that are getting us hammered, there will be questions about his future very soon. Whatever the situation, it's his job to find a way to survive.

Worst thing is, we have zero influence over this. We're sitting at home watching a disaster unfolding and no amount of positivity or negativity on our part will make the slightest difference.

 

 

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14 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Sorry, I'm struggling to see any positives. 

If there's player power in action, how are we gonnae fix that? They've seen Robinson off, Lasley was gone in 90 minutes, now Alexander's struggling. 

If - and it beggars belief - everything's rosy, we're dealing with an entire team of injured/ill players (half of whom we've no real clue when they'll return), another team that's clearly not up to the job and a bunch of January signings, who are either dross or MIA. There's nothing to suggest any of our 'problem' players are likely to suddenly find new form or attitudes at this late stage, and there's nowhere left to turn.

Same with the manager. Alexander only needs to keep us up, no one expects anymore now, but we don't expect anything less either. If some of the squad, especially the ones we really need, aren't performing for him, he's screwed. And if he persists with tactics that are getting us hammered, there will be questions about his future very soon. Whatever the situation, it's his job to find a way to survive.

Worst thing is, we have zero influence over this. We're sitting at home watching a disaster unfolding and no amount of positivity or negativity on our part will make the slightest difference.

 

 

Great post. 
 

I’ve never seen a squad/team/situation in as much need of a good “booing” in my life!

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15 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Sorry, I'm struggling to see any positives. 

If there's player power in action, how are we gonnae fix that? They've seen Robinson off, Lasley was gone in 90 minutes, now Alexander's struggling. 

If - and it beggars belief - everything's rosy, we're dealing with an entire team of injured/ill players (half of whom we've no real clue when they'll return), another team that's clearly not up to the job and a bunch of January signings, who are either dross or MIA. There's nothing to suggest any of our 'problem' players are likely to suddenly find new form or attitudes at this late stage, and there's nowhere left to turn.

Same with the manager. Alexander only needs to keep us up, no one expects anymore now, but we don't expect anything less either. If some of the squad, especially the ones we really need, aren't performing for him, he's screwed. And if he persists with tactics that are getting us hammered, there will be questions about his future very soon. Whatever the situation, it's his job to find a way to survive.

Worst thing is, we have zero influence over this. We're sitting at home watching a disaster unfolding and no amount of positivity or negativity on our part will make the slightest difference.

 

 

Great post.  Yep, we are sitting in our houses not being able to do anything whilst we are relying on other teams to be worse than us.

I'm also pissed off with the constant Twitter shite pumped out, or pictures celebrating people's birthday or videos of x player doing something irrelevant.  Honestly fuck that sky high.  I would rather we just kept our heads down and got a group of guys together, banged their heads together and told them how it was.  I guess this is what GA has tried to do which is why toys are out the pram.  The players will have to accept their wee pal Robbo isn't coming back and if I were Burrows I'd also keep my head down, keep off Twitter trying to be every players pal and start figuring out the roadmap for the way ahead.

 

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16 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

If there's player power in action, how are we gonnae fix that?

Might as well just let them self-organise and do whatever they want on the park and see if their ideas are any better than the manager's... the results couldn't be any worse.

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2 minutes ago, Suprawell said:

Great post.  Yep, we are sitting in our houses not being able to do anything whilst we are relying on other teams to be worse than us.

I'm also pissed off with the constant Twitter shite pumped out, or pictures celebrating people's birthday or videos of x player doing something irrelevant.  Honestly fuck that sky high.  I would rather we just kept our heads down and got a group of guys together, banged their heads together and told them how it was.  I guess this is what GA has tried to do which is why toys are out the pram.  The players will have to accept their wee pal Robbo isn't coming back and if I were Burrows I'd also keep my head down, keep off Twitter trying to be every players pal and start figuring out the roadmap for the way ahead.

 

Agree with every word 

If Gallagher is fucking about re his contract the club ( Burrows ) need to come clean … … No one player is bigger than the club.

Tell him he’s cleaning the toilets and other players boots for the rest of the season as well as docking his wages for not playing and don’t let the door hit him on the arse on the way out in the summer.

Someone at the club needs to grow a pair !!!!! 

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12 minutes ago, milo said:

I’ve never seen a squad/team/situation in as much need of a good “booing” in my life!

You wonder. Probably nail the coffin lid shut, knowing this lot, but at least we'd feel better for a wee while.

Actually, 'knowing this lot' might be half the problem. There's a total disconnect between half this team/the manager and the fans. But it's the same everywhere, so reason or not, it's no excuse.

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8 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

You wonder. Probably nail the coffin lid shut, knowing this lot, but at least we'd feel better for a wee while.

Actually, 'knowing this lot' might be half the problem. There's a total disconnect between half this team/the manager and the fans. But it's the same everywhere, so reason or not, it's no excuse.

I actually do think our season would’ve been very different had fans been allowed in as normal, some of the performances both individually and collectively just would not have been accepted. 
 

However, as you say it’s been the same everywhere and other teams have managed to be less shambolic and adapted accordingly.

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1 hour ago, steelboy said:

It's Burrows fault for putting such a daft contract in front of him that always had the potential to backfire rather than just offering a three year deal. 

Apparently Gallagher was represented by his father when signing for us but has an agent now. Burrows obviously thought he was getting one over them but now it's came back and bit him on the arse. 

LOL Steelboy. If Gallagher had signed a 3 year deal and had been a dud you would have been the first on here complaining about why Burrows had committed the club to a 3 year deal. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

That aside, I am struggling to see your point. Talking hypothetically (because we do not know the circumstances in this specific case) you seem to be arguing that it is Alan Burrows fault when:

a player signs in good faith (my word is my bond...!) a contract with Motherwell and then months or a year later realises that, due to a good spell of form, the contract no longer suits his needs 100%. The player refuses to play, potentially jepordising the future of that club (holding the club to ransom you could argue) until such times as the contract is amended in his favour.

If that is your argument, then it seems to me, that it gives license to every future Motherwell player with a sob story, to renege on a contract, rendering the club completely helpless. 

Player power in the extreme I would think and a genuine recipe for disaster (if disaster has not struck already). 

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The club relies on the financial  interest of the players and the club being aligned. Basically they both make more money if the player plays well. Gallagher's contract has introduced a scenario where him playing for us reduces the amount of money he will make in the future so obviously he doesn't want to play. That's a poorly designed contract and the blame falls on Burrows.

The players at any club can spit the dummy and decide not to play which is why we are having to make an example of Gallagher even though he succeeded in getting his contract changed. The entire situation is a shambles and completely unnecessary. 

I'm quite happy for players who have proven themselves at our level to sign longer contracts and give us some continuity.

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7 minutes ago, steelboy said:

The club relies on the financial  interest of the players and the club being aligned. Basically they both make more money if the player plays well. Gallagher's contract has introduced a scenario where him playing for us reduces the amount of money he will make in the future so obviously he doesn't want to play. That's a poorly designed contract and the blame falls on Burrows.

The players at any club can spit the dummy and decide not to play which is why we are having to make an example of Gallagher even though he succeeded in getting his contract changed. The entire situation is a shambles and completely unnecessary. 

I'm quite happy for players who have proven themselves at our level to sign longer contracts and give us some continuity.

so i take it the " big chap on burrows door " worked then steelboy ? just askin like :D

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6 hours ago, star sail said:

. The enigma for me is Polworth? A good player who is visibly showing signs of being in the huff. Get him switched on and suddenly the team looks strong again. It is the very, very difficult job of a Motherwell manager to get all the pieces of the jigsaw in place. 

Polworth has talent but doesn't suit playing in a 3 man midfield.  He can't tackle - but he can split defences with good passes.   Unless we play a 3-5-2 he's a luxury we can't afford and to be honest I'd rather drop Watt back and play him in the hole. 

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I really cant see how this Dec business can be true. If he is at the madam, surely the club just strip the guy of the captaincy. No need to sack him, if he chooses not to play again then its on him. Removing the arm band pretty much tells everyone what has happened.

That hasnt be done. No-one at the club has spoken out against him which i find hard to believe would be the case if he was at it. There would always be at least a couple not happy at it.

I have no idea what is going on but if he was coming the cunt and Motherwell are lieing down and letting him do it then the club are as much to blame.

I just cant see it myself. 

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20 minutes ago, wellsince75 said:

Polworth has talent but doesn't suit playing in a 3 man midfield.  He can't tackle - but he can split defences with good passes.   Unless we play a 3-5-2 he's a luxury we can't afford and to be honest I'd rather drop Watt back and play him in the hole. 

Absolutely. It all depends on who partners him in midfield. He needs hard working, hard tackling energetic types beside him to enable him to flourish. That said his set pieces leave a lot to be desired. 

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Both Polworth and Crawford were trying to get on the ball yesterday but had no options once they had it. The defense was also very hesitant to play the ball, giving St J time to cut out their options. We are very static on and off the ball and are easily nullified, and teams can pretty much snuff out our creativity by stopping Polworth. There were a few occasions where Polworth tried to force the issue by beating his man just to make something happen to no avail. He also had our sole shot of the game, despite us having 3 strikers in the pitch. 

I think we’ve all decided that he can’t be arsed, because simply being out of form isn’t enough. He tracks back often enough and doesn’t hide when out of possession, but unsurprisingly his defensive skills are that of an attack minded player. Players like him are going to stand out when they have bad games, compared to headless chickens that run all day and get the plaudits. 

I think he’d be at his best with a front 2 in front of him, rather than a spread out 3.

As it stands we have a poorly constructed squad and an injury situation that has exposed it further. I’m not buying that players who are already on modest wages have decided to deliberately forfeit win bonuses by being shite, in the hope that this somehow gets them a move to a better club. Or that someone is blowing his chance of playing at a rare international tournament by not playing due to to the risk of a contract extension at a club that hardly has to be asked twice to sell its players. Players low in confidence or out of form can be hesitant, and that’s what we’re seeing.

I remember when Hutchison took over the club there was a lot of talk about the injuries and investing in avoiding them. I’m not sure what we can realistically do, but the number of training injuries is ridiculous.

As for recruitment? If we keep the current staff I’d like to know how we measure their success. 

 

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44 minutes ago, smiddy said:

so basically hes a man down ??

This season, yes. In fairness to him he's a different kind of player to Turnbull. DT played in a more advanced role whilst Polworth plays deeper, along with our other midfielders.  That creates a gap between them and our strikers, which has been hard to bridge. 

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4 hours ago, steelboy said:

The club relies on the financial  interest of the players and the club being aligned. Basically they both make more money if the player plays well. Gallagher's contract has introduced a scenario where him playing for us reduces the amount of money he will make in the future so obviously he doesn't want to play. That's a poorly designed contract and the blame falls on Burrows.

The players at any club can spit the dummy and decide not to play which is why we are having to make an example of Gallagher even though he succeeded in getting his contract changed. The entire situation is a shambles and completely unnecessary. 

I'm quite happy for players who have proven themselves at our level to sign longer contracts and give us some continuity.

I can't understand why people are getting stressed about Gallacher, his contracts up in the summer all this conspiracy pish about not playing to stop triggering a  contract extension is comedy gold.

As I see it if he no longer wants to play at Fir park and the toys are out of the pram, then don't play him and punt him as soon as we can, spend the wages on a player who wants to be at the club.

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1 minute ago, Spiderpig said:

I can't understand why people are getting stressed about Gallacher, his contracts up in the summer all this conspiracy pish about not playing to stop triggering a  contract extension is comedy gold.

As I see it if he no longer wants to play at Fir park and the toys are out of the pram, then don't play him and punt him as soon as we can, spend the wages on a player who wants to be at the club.

The contract clause has been removed so he can play now without extending his deal. That is official.

The issue is whether he has burnt his bridges with the club in getting the clause removed. 

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1 hour ago, Big Stall said:

I really cant see how this Dec business can be true. If he is at the madam, surely the club just strip the guy of the captaincy. No need to sack him, if he chooses not to play again then its on him. Removing the arm band pretty much tells everyone what has happened.

That hasnt be done. No-one at the club has spoken out against him which i find hard to believe would be the case if he was at it. There would always be at least a couple not happy at it.

I have no idea what is going on but if he was coming the cunt and Motherwell are lieing down and letting him do it then the club are as much to blame.

I just cant see it myself. 

Agreed - I just can't see one player having that sort of power. In recent years we've proved we aren't mugs when it comes to other clubs trying to flex their muscles - even if it's to a players detriment (Carson, nearing the end of his career, denied a bumper pay check at Celtic), so I'd be astonished if the club let the club Captain feign injury to re-negotiate a contract or avoid an automatic extension. The guy is also risking his place at the Euros. 

That said, as much as I've tried to be rational about this, I can't get my head around the Daily Record "source" saying on the 4th of January that he's trying to force a move and that his contact will be extended after 25 games, you've got Alexander being quoted as saying in January "I’ve read about Declan’s situation and we’ll assess it", then after game 24 he gets injured. Maybe the source was talking shite - the extension doesn't exist - and it's sheer coincidence. 

The club have no duty to comment on individual employment contracts so I'm not sure what I'd expect them to say here, but the silence is leaving the fans to come up with their own theories. 

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