joewarkfanclub

I hadnt actually thought that the replacement for Just may already be in the building. But if you think about it, Said has all the attributes. Great close control, gets us up the pitch, brings other team mates into play with neat lay offs. Incredible work rate getting back into position to defend. Just (pun intended) needs to work on the assists and finishing, but yesterday was a very good start.

Aye. Reaching the group stage was always gonna be a big ask. But if we can negotiate this tie (also not easy) at least our league game will be cancelled and we can get a clear run at it. Be interesting to see who lies in wait. Big motivation for the team!

Information shared on the Well Society Wattsapp Group that the meeting place is NARINKKA SQUARE from 2pm. There are several bars on the square which have all said Wellfans are welcome. Plan is a Corteo to the Stadium at 5.45pm for a 7pm ko.

I think what Ive noticed so far is that there are less options available to the player on the ball this season. Last year our movement ahead of the ball was fantastic and there were always 3 or 4 options on for a pass, which made it really difficult for teams to press us. This season the movement is less with maybe 1 or 2 options. First half Hibs sat off us a little so that was fine. But second half when they pressed high, it put us under so much extra pressure. Whether it just unfamiliarity at present due to squad turnover or, we just need to run harder as a team, Im not sure, but either way, it will need to improve. Especially against the better teams.

Bit of a mixed bag today. Lots of good stuff, but lots.of mistakes as well, which is to be expected bedding in so many new players. Thought we were comfortable first half, without being exceptional, but produced the only piece of real quality of the half to win the penalty. Second half Hibs pressed much higher and forced us into a lot more mistakes, which is a slight concern and an area we will need to improve. Williams really sells Oscar for the penalty, not much Oscar can do but take the yellow. We did have to dig deep after that, but was quite a pleasing aspect to see that we have that capability if required. The second goal is a thing of beauty. Potentially team goal of the season already. So pleased for Said. He has such an infectious personality that makes you just desperate for him to do well. Overall, a fantastic 3 points and just the result needed to keep confidence high going into a huge game on Thursday. Everyone to Helsinki! 🧡❤️🧡

Bit of a mixed bag for a lot of the players today. A number of them did a lot of good things, but they also threw in a number of mistakes. Particularly in the second half when Hibs were pressing us much higher and more vigorously. Paulsen did very well for the most part. 3 very smart saves and came for a good few cross balls, albeit he didnt win them all. I went for Ibby though. His close control is always mesmerising, but his use of the ball, bringing teamates into play was much better today and his finish for the second goal was very composed. Also, that smile! 🧡❤️🧡

I absolutely get why you feel this way. The team took some time to earn our trust last season, and the same will be true this season, purely down to the changes of manager and personnel. However, the early signs are good. Today is the next stepping stone on that journey. It would be nice to get a win, even a point would do. However, Im more interested in the performance than the result. If we can go to a difficult away venue, play our game, control the ball and you can see patterns of play and what we are trying to achieve, I will be more than happy. Hibs will be dangerous in attack, but they can be got at, at the back. Control the ball, starve them of possession and limit their chances. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

A striker and another ball playing midfielder would be most welcome.

Isnt that "shelving"? Americans have some strange ideas! 😆😆😆

Apologies! I figured everyone would know that puddings were intended to be eaten. Having been to America recently, they dont appear to be strangers to the concept! 😆😆😆

Really impressed with the managers thought process re squad building. He is his own man and will tweak things eventually. But right now while the squad is in flux, keeping things the same until the squad is settled and on the same page makes perfect sense. Once the squad is complete and up to speed, we can develop things in his image then. Having the continuity of the same coaching staff obviously helps that. If that was a strategic choice made by the club, then just another decision they have got right.

The proof will be in the pudding as they say. If we are sitting in 5 years time still in the top flight with a brand new POD built still challenging for top 6 and European football then all will be well in the world. Id like a cup win as well, but happy to wait a little longer for that if we are transforming the club in the process.

A couple of signings before we head out for Helsinki wont help our progress, but they would put a spring in the step of our supporters. Its all about vibes at the start of the season. We need to keep the feelgood factor going as long as possible!

If we sell Longelo on top of those that have already gone and the liklihood JT is out the door, then Kyrk is gonna have some questions to answer re his comments on " squad management". It would be like a fire sale, just with loads more money involved!

Id be quite impressed if thats what he was doing, but it isnt/wasnt. Of course the options in front of him have to be good as well, and I dont think our rotations are where they were last season (yet) but Paulsens body shape / positioning whilst receiving the ball isnt doing it for me right now. Like I said though, early days.

Is he that good with his feet though? I know thats why we went out and got him, but there were points last week and again last night where he looked less than comfortable and launched it long. On one occasion he booted it out the park under no pressure at all. I will reserve judgment on him as we are only 2 games in and he has a brand new defence in front of him, but Im yet to be convinced by him. More than happy to be proved wrong though!

Apologies, just noticed that there has already been a thread started way down the page. Feel free to merge or whatever needs to be done. No offence intended.

So the league season starts with a difficult away game in the capital. Having watched some of Hibs game last night, its hard to know exactly where we are compared to them in the squad building / preparation stakes. They seem to have signed a load of players and looked decent going forward, but they did seem a bit ropey at the back against a team that, with all respect, didnt look that great. Martin Boyle still looks fit enough to cause us problems, Josh Mulligan is a good player and the big fella Lowe up front looks a handful, but overall, they still seem like less than the sum of their parts. Happily take a good performance and a draw and move onto Helsinki.

Williams was good, Mikey Booth impressed me again, Fadinger did Fadinger things, and despite his lack of finishing, Said doesnt half get us up the pitch at times. MOTM is easy though. Oscar again by a mile. The boy is class. Different player from Watt but class nonetheless.

Im on the 9am SAS flight on Wednesday from Edinburgh to Helsinki via Stockholm. If anyone is about I will see you in the bar!

HB came out the blocks flying as you would expect with their home record, but we settled quickly and after the first 10 minutes dominated the ball and the game. You can see that the team is still new and finding its feet with a few stray passes giving HB more encouragement than they needed. Paulsen and the 2 centre backs still dont feel 100% comfortable, but that will come. Overall it was a very impressive performance and I think we are miles ahead of where we were this time last season. Loads of room for improvement but with Longelo and Cookie now looking ready, Maswanhise getting minutes off the bench and Lowry now available for selection, things are looking promising. Will be a step up in class next week, but with a wee trip to Easter Road on Sunday, I would expect us to be ready. Just no more injuries please!

JT wont start, but Cookie might. That would be an improvement. If Longelo plays as well from the start, I think we should have too much for them. Need to play our usual game. Keep the ball, starve them of chances. Take ours when they come.

I hope they start him. Id rather that then they bring him on at 0-0 with 15 minutes to go. Dont think my heart could stand the chaos! 😆

Just more things for them to get spectacularly wrong....

Good point. With a fit McGinn, SOD, Koutroumbis & McGhee, we probably dont really need another CB. But right now with all 4 injured, we definitely do. Hopefully we can get another midfielder and a striker in soon.....