wellfan

I agree. I stated in a reply above that such a strategy carries risks.

You're not wrong regarding the youth development issue; perhaps the financial compensation scheme, as alluded to by our leaders, needs to be looked at again. Additionally, as I said in my reply above, perhaps we should try to move to a position where we allocate more money to invest in youth development and retention instead of having no money for that due to blowing our load on panic signings every January window. It's not a 1-2 year fix; it requires a reset aligned with an appropriately costed strategy, which will also have risks. I suppose it doesn't have to be one or the other, but the balance is way off right now, and that cannot go on.

True, but we're throwing away good money during the now cyclical January panic mode, which I would argue would be better for the long-term if invested in youth development, but that's not easy or a silver bullet.

I sincerely hope so, although I concede that we will probably have to rely on more loanees this window to see us to the end of the season because we're apparently skint. A big reset coming this summer, from top to bottom, hopefully.

The opportunity presented by successful loanees, such as we’ve seen with Spencer, Gent, and Biereth, should only ever be seen as a bonus and not the solution for a club of our financial stature. This doesn't mean we should stop seeking more Biereth’s. However, once we start to rely on loanees to get us over the finish line, which I think is what we’ve had to do recently because a lot of our permanent signings and youth players have not been good enough, we will find ourselves in trouble and in need of a continual rebuild every window, as we do right now. History is repeating itself this January, which again calls into question our recruitment and youth development strategies. We can't go on like this.

A Theo Bair hat-trick and a fish supper.

Glad to see that all the happy clappers liked your happy clappy post. Let's see how we all feel at 5pm on Saturday.

Looking at your defensive response to the posts that criticise the manager etc., I'd be intrigued to see you try to defend the reality that is one win in 4.5 months, or do you choose to ignore that like you suggest I dismiss what you've pointed out? The former is the bigger picture here.

Correct, but it's Motherwell’s fault that they’ve signed so much shite that they've then had to rely on a loanee to keep their heads above water this season so far. And it looks like they've been blindsided by Arsenal, who are known for recalling players, which further suggests to me that they're at fault for now being short of strikers, currently. When you look at the whole, and not just the Biereth situation, it's all very amateurish.

The past 18+ months have very much been a protracted amateur hour. We can only hope that Livi remain worse than us because there have been absolutely zero signs to suggest that our management and recruitment personnel will either improve themselves or be improved by others.

Alloa will be supremely confident for this game. Put your mortgage on them winning.

This is where my views landed some time ago. He’s got 2 weeks left to change my mind.

https://x.com/gavinmccafferty/status/1747912898213556395?s=46&t=wehikD-exiutCByWu64YEQ https://x.com/andrewmaclean_/status/1747910085878128850?s=46&t=wehikD-exiutCByWu64YEQ

Other than the credible investment approaches mentioned by the Chairman following the release of the video, the Well Society has provided the following positive update: We had more sign ups in the 48 hours after the film launch than we would normally get in a two month period. We have also had a number of people get in touch to increase their monthly payments or to rejoin. We also have some more international members. Austria is now on the map, the Netherlands have doubled their contingent (to two!) and the US and Canada continue to rise.

By that logic, our highest-paid player (Kelly) should be played as a striker.

Yes, but he's been diabolical since returning from injury.

We haven't replaced Spencer, as Monty plays the same side as Gent and likely takes Souare's wage, as noted above. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Kettlewell were to fudge one of these two left-sided players into a right-sided position, much like he did with Spencer, but on the opposite side.

If we had a proper squad, players like Mugabi, Butcher, SOD and Paton would all be starting from the bench on Saturday. Given we don't, the alternative would be to field surplus to requirement players (McGinley & Maguire) and schoolboys, which sums up exactly how threadbare and poor our squad is. As I wrote elsewhere, Montgomery aside, I still think we need to sign at least five more immediate starters if we have any hope of achieving anything other than 11th place at best this season.

Casey, Miller, Slattery, Blaney, and Shaw are all listed as out for this game.

I am sure that we will (and should) facilitate his treatment and rehab beyond the expiration of his contract in May, but we're not a charity and should not be extending the contracts of players we know will be sitting in the stand. Didn't we do something with Craig Tanner, who immediately left at the first sniff of somewhere else?! It's probably not a like-for-like scenario, but my point remains.

With Miller now on an extended contract and our only saleable asset, rushing him back into the first team would be stupid and negligent. Giving too many first team minutes to some youngsters can lead to recurring breakdowns/injuries, particularly muscular. See Gavi and Pedri, for example. Therefore, bolstering the midfield should be a priority this window so that we don't have to rely on a valuable teenager (again) who will have just recovered from a significant injury and still be developing.

Goalkeepers Kelly Ox Defenders SOD McGinn Mugabi Butcher - injured/recovering Casey - injured Blaney Gent (loanee) McGinley - surplus Midfielders Davor Slattery - injured Paton Miller - injured/recovering Spittal Maguire - surplus Forwards Obika Bair Shaw (loanee) Biereth (loanee) There's barely a decent starting eleven in that list, let alone a complete matchday squad. It's a big window ahead for Kettlewell and Daws, as we probably need about 6-7 players in. Do we trust them to get it right this time?

That's the last we’ll see of Slattery for the Well. Good luck to him. https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2024/01/15/callum-slattery-suffers-serious-knee-injury/

The chat around the video is ridiculous. Some folk can't see past their own ego.

Penney does seem to meet the waifs and strays criteria.