joewarkfanclub

Very impressive press conference. Alfred isnt as intimidating as Jens, but he is no shrinking violet either, and showed real strength of character in his answers. Im sure that will transmit to the players and he will have earned their respect as a result. Still annoyed about the League Cup exit, but 100% understand it and it will soon be forgotten about if we get a strong performance tomorrow night.

Most importantly, we need to try and hang on to Fadinger & Longelo this window. They are integral to what we do and would leave holes that are too big to fill this late in the window. They can be next seasons big money sales!

Another signing that very much fits our current model/process. Young, former academy graduate, struggling to find a home he feels comfortable in. Paid an undisclosed fee. I presume the signing is data driven again, so should fit all the metrics we require. Be interesting to see if this means Stama will be heading out the door or if we will try to use him to supplement what we have. If he goes, Id personally like to get another one in as Hendry looks crocked and Eythor is still a bit unknown. Looking forward to seeing what the young man can do!

We dont have a big enough squad right now. But thats mostly due to injuries. We currently have the following out SOD, McGinn, Sparrow, McGhee, Williams, Priestman, Stama, Eythor, Hendry Add those 9 back into the squad and we are nowhere near as threadbare as we have been made to look. Obviously we can debate whether any of those listed are starters or whether somemof them need moved on. But with a couple more signings up top and the injury list clear, we would be in pretty good shape. Its part of the frustration with the Stenny game / team selection. I agree Alfred could have started with Moorman, Fadinger and Longelo but with Sparrow, Williams and Priestman all being out. Moorman is the only one we have cover for if any of them got injured. You could even add Koutroumbis into that scenario. Clearly, Alfred has chosen to rotate for Stenny hoping to scrape through. I it hasnt worked out, but it was the right decision. Going into the Freiburg game with a much weakened team doesnt bare thinking about.

I think the manager does have free reign to pick the team. However, given our current injury situation, he would be mad to go against the sports scientists and risk picking up more unwanted injuries. Imagine if something had happened to Koutroumbis & Longelo and we went into the Freiburg game with Ross and Wilson as fullbacks? This place would go into meltdown. Folk are more than entitled to their opinions on players, but the realities of modern day football means sometimes a managers hands are tied. Hopefully we can put together a stronger team for Freiburg and consign this episode to history.

This 100 times over. But you know, he is Scandinavian, so clearly just disrespected Stenny & The League Cup..... 🤔🤔🤔

Very reminiscent of another former Rangers player who arrived at Fir Park trying to resurrect his career.....

Everyone was a 7/10 or above tonight so feels kinda unfair to single anyone out. The entire backline were magnificent. Oscar and Faddy did Oscar and Faddy things. Lowry showed his range of passing is gonna be up there this season and a special mention for Olly Whyte who put in a real shift when he came on and showed he is someone we could be getting excited about very soon. MOTM though is SAID. He is box office every week, but those 2 goals are ridiculous! Ifbhe keeps that up another club record transfer fee will be incoming!

Dont want to get carried away, but..... That was magnificent. Certainly the best European performance Ive seen at Fir Park and as dominant a display as I think Ive seen in any game. Helsinki barely had a shot on goal all night and we could have easily scored 5 or 6. They could barely get the ball off us until we shut up shop and went 5 at the back. Is this how football is supposed to be? Great credit to the manager and the players for hitting the ground running. Im sure most of us had the fear that we had seen the last of performances like that when Jens and our 3 best players left in the summer. Its testament to them and the recruitment team that a seemless transition is well underway. Bravo Motherwell! 🧡❤️🧡

He tried really hard not to say that in the podcast as well! 😍😍😍

I saw that. If true, its certainly a statement. Would be close to a club record fee paid for a player I would imagine. I know we did get a helluva lot more than that for Watt, so the money is there, but even still. Alfred did make a point of saying we would stick to the model that has been successful, so we wont be throwing cash around left, right and centre. But it certainly allows us to target a higher calibre player than we maybe could in the past. Obviously with the caveat we will be hoping to develop Hodge into another Eli Just type fee in a couple of years. Good times.

Wrong thread....

We have played 5 competitive games so far this season. We have scored 8 and conceded 2. I get that 3 were penalties, but it was good play on all 3 occasions that created the pressure that caused the defenders to give the penalties away. I dont necessarily expect tonights game to be highscoring. But we created plenty of chances last week to prove we can threaten them going forward. Defence is key though. Keep a clean sheet and we will win the game eventually.

Excellent Podcast SOD comes across as a very decent guy. Maybe a bit too self deprecating, but thats a very Scottish thing. Such a good guy to have around the club right now when there is so much change going on. Glad he is getting to finish his Motherwell career on a high enjoying some good times.

Maybe not a stick on, but Id certainly expect some extended minutes, especially if we are successful against Helsinki and have Freiburg the following Thursday. We will definitely need to rotate a little and keep legs fresh. Hopefully Hodge can also start as we cant keep asking Fadinger and Priestmann to play every minute. Rotating one of them out to start for continuity and then swapping at half time would make sense.

So spoke to my neices boyfriend who is a Huddersfield Town fan. Hodge played 27 games for them season before last. He said, Hodge is a very good player, quick on his feet. Very good defensive midfielder in the "Kante style". So the comparisons with Wee Al, are right enough! 😉😉😉

Oh absolutely! If we dont have any academy graduates in that position, stealing one from Airdrie would not only be great craic, but a wise move. Would still like a more "oven ready" striker as well though. We could have "oven ready", Eythor and youth stiker vying for the central role and covering each other. Stama can be loaned back to A League to see out his contract and JT can play wide in his favoured pisition until someone re-ignites interest in him.

There is a section top right already sold out. Is that the HJK section?

Unfortunately not. Similar to Lowry before Havnar away. You need to name your squad before the first leg and thats you until the next round.

Not usually a fan of 3-5-2 but given the flexibility of our players and ability to rotate, its not a wild suggestion as its probably more 3-4-3 in possession. With the addition of Hodge, the sqaud is shaping up nicely.

Can never have enough Joe's at Fir Park! 😉😉😉 Seems to have decent pedigree and very much in line with our current recruitment policy. That will put the Brad Spencer chat to bed I would presume.....

Allegedly Guy Bainbridge from Airdrie u19's. Listed as a "prolific goalscorer". Not sure we would put all our eggs in that basket, but it would be good to have another young local lad in the squad that could do a job. Im guessing our academy is also light up top if qr have brought him in for a look.

On the other place they are saying a 19 year old called Guy Bainbridge...... Edit: ex Airdrie youth academy apparently. Wiki says he is a "prolific goalscorer"

Wilson wasnt any good in any of those positions. That was on Kettlewell. He is a limited left back who looks like he could fill in at left centre half if we went to a 3 at the back. I would keep him around right now for the UEFA quota. But the minute we are out of Europe he should go out on loan again to give him another chance to develop. He isnt playing LB in front of Longelo, Williams, Koutroumbis, SOD or even Sparrow.

If Sparrow is fit he should play. He has the armband and his performances have been great. He seems to have turned from a boy into a man over the summer! Johnny K is great cover to have come off the bench in a number of positions.