David
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Posts posted by David
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34 minutes ago, MFCL84 said:
Can I ask why you go to the games and what you get from them if survival is the main thing. Don't you go to the games to be entertained?
Personally, I go to games to see us hopefully win. That's the be-all & end-all for me. If we win a boring game 1-0 I'll be happy. If we lose an exciting game 4-3 I won't be happy.Ā
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Let's cut back on the back and forth niggling, please. Want to discuss and be critical of the manager? Fine. But this stupid tit-for-tat isn't happening.Ā
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18 hours ago, grizzlyg said:
Hearts on honking run of form and desperate for 3 pts so what better opposition to face as we are always charitable to teams that need a win
I always laugh when I see anyone saying that, as it's something that fans of about 90% of football clubs in existence sayĀ š
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2 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said:
For me, any assessment on whether we keep a player or move them on should be based on whether there is a better player available.
There will always be better players out there than the ones weāve got, but the real question is whether we can afford them and if theyāre actually interested in joining us or have other options.
It also comes down to whether the manager and coaching staff believe thereās potential to improve and address the issues a player might have. Letās be honestāfinding a player who makes virtually no mistakes is extremely rare. If someone was consistently performing at that level, theyād probably be well beyond what we can afford.
In the case of someone like Casey, we need to ask ourselves whether heās consistently making errors and misjudging situations, or if heās doing whatās expected and delivering at a level suitable for a club like ours. Can the mistakes heās making be addressed through coaching? Is there room for him to grow and improve?
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18 minutes ago, wellfan said:
But it's possible to highlight the unfair treatment and stand up for what's right without behaving like a hormonal teenager on the touchline, is it not?
He clearly lost his temper on the touchline at the weekend and paid the price for it. Heās not the first manager to do so, and he certainly wonāt be the last.
Personally, Iād rather have a manager who occasionally lets his passion get the better of him than someone who comes across as overly passive.
You also raise a valid point about his inexperience. At 40, and with last season being his first full campaign as the sole manager of a professional club, itās fair to say heās still learning the ropes.
That said, chasing a top-six finish and leading us to a cup semi-final in only his second full season? Not bad going for someone whoās still relatively new to the job.
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2 hours ago, cambo97 said:
While I don't disagree with what you're saying, Gannon got crucified in the media and on here for pointing out far more obvious wrongs, including when we won the game.
Not by me he didn't.
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12 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:
A fair bit of merit in what you say. However Sevco and Celtic are big enough and powerful enough to intimidate the SFA/SPFL, their officials and the media.Ā Referees cannot stand up to them and consciously or otherwise tend to favour them, maybe for understandable reasons.Ā The media is scared stiff that if they upset them they will be denied access to them for reporting and that in turn will affect their sales.Ā Its a different story, in varying degrees,Ā however for the other clubs. In terms of VAR and refereeing you'd hope that any complaints would be met with indifference but more likely than not they're met with covert hostility.Ā
It might look good to the fans if SK sounds off aggressively and might make him feel better, but its only going to elicit a stubborn reaction from many officials. That said he's only human and I'd probably do the same in his situation.Ā The problem is that its our players and we fans who'll suffer when referees and VAR officials kickback. Again being human, its a very detached emotionless individual who can go out of their way to be fair to someone who's made a very public complaint againt them.Ā
I completely understand your perspective, but Iād much prefer having a manager like Kettlewell who refuses to doff his cap and simply accept the status quo. In my view, the more he calls out the shambles that is officiating in action, the better.
Itās worth noting that his approach could easily boost morale and foster an "us vs the world" mentality in the dressing room, which is no bad thing.
Iām not referring to you here, but the reality is that Kettlewell canāt seem to win in the eyes of some fans. If he manages with passion, wears his heart on his sleeve, and kicks every ball like we do in the stands, heās labelled a "twat." Yet, if he kept quiet about the poor decisions, avoided making waves, and let it all slide, heād likely be called a "twat" for that as well.
What I hope is that fans recognise a manager and team who are clearly on the same page, putting in the effort and having a decent season. We should be backing them, supporting the manager and club when they call out dodgy decisions, not tearing them down for it.
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8 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:
Just hope we don't enrage the officials in the next few days before the game.
Yup, the sooner Kettlewell learns that it's only the "big teams" who get to question match officials and learns his place, the better, eh?
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The changes Rangers made at half time and in the second half made the difference. As is usually the case with the Old Firm, they can call upon the quality needed when our players are tiring, and the quality we have on the bench simply isn't of an equal level.Ā
Losing Stama and Miller also hurt us.
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It seems like a fair result overall.
We were clearly the better side in the first half, but Rangers' changes at the break, combined with us losing Stama, Miller, and Kaleta, swung the second half in their favour.
As for the two VAR incidents, they seemed straightforward to me. You simply can't put your hands on the keeper during a set piece and expect to get away with it. Itās a frustrating rule, but itās been in place for some time now. The offside decision was correct as wellāno real debate there.
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1 minute ago, mio said:
im not a kettlewell hater but if he wasnāt booked and then sent off thatād be a few less minutes.
That's a bit of a stretch. I know we all love a good manager-bashing on this forum, but I think the three injured players we've had may have been more of a factor in it all.
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15 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:
Of course there's some truth in what you say, as the ebb and flow of a game is down to the performance and tactics of both teams not just one. However, it was quite clear on Friday that, even when presented with the option of advancing out of our own area, our midfielders quite clearly chose to be cautious and remain in situ. That was both with 10 and 11 men and clearly a conscious decision and nothing to do with Kilmarnock.Ā
I canāt dispute that we were cautious at points on Friday (as were Kilmarnock, by the way). However, Iād argue that itās not as straightforward as a deliberate, one-dimensional plan to sit back after scoring.
Momentum is a massive factor in football. When a team concedes, itās natural for them to respond with urgencyāpressing higher and taking more risks. This often pushes the leading team deeper. Players react instinctively to pressure. When the opposition throws everything forward, the priority often shifts to holding shape and defendingāmore out of necessity than by design.
Thereās also the psychological and tactical side to consider. Protecting a narrow lead can lead to a subconscious shift towards caution. Players might hesitate to make risky forward passes or push too far forward, not because theyāre instructed to but as a natural response to the situation. This is especially true if confidence in the defence isnāt at its peak.
Context is also key. Playing with ten men for any length of time inevitably changes the dynamic. Even when we had eleven men on the park, thereās a recovery periodāboth physically and mentallyāwhere players need to readjust after a period of sustained pressure. The caution you mention may well have been a mix of regaining composure and ensuring we didnāt concede a soft equaliser.
Iām not saying we couldnāt have been more proactive or that the tactics were flawless, that's never the case, but I think these situations are rarely as straightforward as they seem. What looks like sitting back might be the result of Kilmarnockās pressure, the gameās momentum, and the very human instinct to protect what we had.
15 hours ago, dennyc said:The momentum against Killie had clearly changedĀ but it was not just an immediate reaction to us scoring. We were comfortable for the 30 minutes after the goal up to half time. In the second half everyone in the ground could sense the equalising goal comingĀ and the Killie players certainly did.
My issue is that, despite that momentum switch, SK did nothing to alter the flow of the match until after Killie got the goal they deserved. Had he acted earlier maybe we could have regained control and gone on to win the match. Evidenced by the impact Maswanhise had when he came on and gave Killie something different to think about. Even with us a man down.
As you say, we are well placed in the League and SK deserves credit for that. But, how much better placed could we be if he was a bit more pro active. If he is not happy with the way momentum has switched or the fact we are falling deeper and deeper against his instructions, he has the power to try and change things. But he appears reluctant to do so until the inevitable happens.
Youāve raised some fair points regarding the flow of the match and the timing of substitutions, but I think thereās a bit more to consider when assessing Kettlewell's decisions.
Firstly, while the momentum did shift in the second half, making an early substitution isnāt always the answer. The manager has to take multiple factors into account. Which players to take off, how a substitution might alter the teamās shape, and whether the change will genuinely address the tactical problem. Bringing Maswanhise on later in the game clearly paid off, but thereās no certainty that the same impact would have been achieved earlier. Substitutions are rarely a magic fix, and their timing involves balancing immediate needs with the broader game plan.
Secondly, sitting deeper isnāt always a deliberate tactic but often a response to the oppositionās increased pressure, as I mentioned above. If Kettlewell instructed the team to push higher or play out more (which he was, by the way. He could be seen and heard from the main stand urging players to push out), and they struggled under that pressure, itās less about managerial hesitation and more about the natural ebb and flow of the game. Momentum shifts arenāt always within a managerās control, especially when the opposition steps up their intensity.
Itās also worth considering how finely balanced the match was. With a narrow lead, making changes too early carries risks, as they might leave the team more exposed. While an earlier substitution could have disrupted Killieās rhythm, it also might have left us vulnerable, particularly as we went down to 10 men later on.
Finally, I think Kettlewell has demonstrated his ability to make impactful in-game adjustments, as shown by Maswanhiseās introduction. Itās easy to look back and argue a substitution should have come sooner, but in the moment, the manager's job is to assess the bigger picture: how the team is coping, the risks involved, and whether the players on the pitch can resolve the situation themselves. Thatās not hesitationāitās a measured, calculated approach in my view.
Weāre in a strong position in the league, and while the manager's decisions may not always be perfect, theyāve played a significant role in getting us there. Momentum shifts and spells of sitting deep are part of the game, and they happen to every team in almost every match. I do think it's easy for us to sit here online and talk about what should have been done after the game is over, but maybe not quite as easy to do when you're the man in charge mid-game and the result is still there for the taking.
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3 hours ago, wellfan said:
I havenāt dismissed it though. I said our league position is excellent. All Iāve done is provided some context to that position.
Itās all relative, isnāt it? Iād see your point if we were Celtic, consistently facing teams clearly below our level. But weāre not. Weāre competing against sides with either equal or greater resourcesāthatās the real context.
3 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:Not for the first time we take a slender single goal lead in the first half then sit in and invite the opposition to do their worst.
Do we, though? I think weāve all watched enough matches to know that when a team goes behind, they often raise their game and pile on the pressure. Thereās more to the tactical side than just our own decisions. Kilmarnockās approach, how they adapted after us scoring, and other factors also come into play. Weāre not operating in isolation.
I donāt think our manager has any illusions about us being defensively solid enough to grab a goal and then say, āRight, lads, letās sit back and trust our brilliant defence to shut Killie down.ā
I genuinely think itās about the momentum of the match. Iāve seen it far too often, whether itās us or other teams, where conceding a goal sparks a reaction, and for a spell, they go all-out to get back into the game.
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On 12/21/2024 at 12:18 PM, Ya Bezzer! said:
Just because football is weird I'm predicting a clean sheet!Ā š
I'd take that for sure. A point from Celtic away is a good result.
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1 hour ago, wellfan said:
Itās not a narrative, itās reality. Friday night was utter garbage, and many of our performances this season have been garbage, yet weāre somehow fourth, which is excellent. Thatās both a reflection on our ability to amass points whilst being quite shite and the rest of our direct opponents being very shite. The standard on display in this league is mince.Ā
We're fourth because we've beaten teams like Hearts, St Mirren, St Johnstone, and Dundee United at home, while picking up points away against County, St Johnstone, Hibs, Dundee United, St Mirren, and Kilmarnock.
Any team putting together that kind of record over the first 18 games of the season is bound to be closer to the top of the table than the bottom.
As for the overall quality of the league, that's a separate debate. Scottish football is what it is. We're a smaller nation, comparable in size to Slovakia, Finland, Norway, or Ireland. How strong are the domestic leagues in those countries? Are they known for their quality?
Within the context of Scottish football, we're sitting fourthābehind the two biggest clubs in the country and a big city club, and ahead of at least three sides that, given their resources, ought to be doing better than us.
Itās easy to look at our relative success and dismiss it with, "Well, the league isnāt any good anyway." If thatās your view, fair enough.
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7 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:
Wunderwell is quite right to withhold the identity of our possible signing. I understand his/her reasoning and would do exactly the same.
Maybe it would have been best to go a step further and not even mention it? Unless it was just an excuse to let "the nobodies" know their place.
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2 minutes ago, dennyc said:
So perhaps revealing his name at this time would attract unwanted attention from the powers that be?
If it were the club who was revealing the name then sure. But on a fan forum? It's basically just speculation, no matter what anyone claims about being "in the know".
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21 hours ago, wunderwell said:
Don't be so idiotic. Could scupper the deal, would you like that?
How so? You think posting the guys name on a fans forum could put the deal in jeopardy?
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2 hours ago, Electric Blues said:
Not delighted, I'll grant you, but St Johnstone fans currently seem to be fairly positive about how Simo's got them playing, despite sitting just one point off the bottom after a run of poor results. Mind you, if things don't pick up for them after the January window, it'll be interesting to see how quickly they turn on him.
A new manager always gets a bit of grace. How long has Simo been there now? A couple of months? At the moment he's lost twice as many games as he's won, and his team sit in 11th. I certainly wouldn't be trading places with them.
2 hours ago, wellfan said:Our current league position speaks for itself, so fair enough, but itās also a reflection of how poor a lot of teams around us are this season. Notwithstanding, we were utter garbage last night and a draw was a fair result. It was the wrong starting 11 and subs were made too late to be effective. We badly need a striker that fits Kettlewellās preferred system and a midfielder to solidify the heart of the team.Ā
Are we really reverting to the tired old "we're fourth, so every other team must be rubbish" narrative? It seems some people roll that out every time we break into the top six.
The fact is, weāre exactly where weāve earned the right to be. Right now, weāre the fourth-best team in the league, and whether other sides are brilliant, dreadful, or somewhere in between is irrelevant.
Heading into Christmas sitting fourth in the table, with a cup semi-final secured, is a brilliant position to be in.
1 hour ago, joewarkfanclub said:Of course that all depends on how the opposition sets up and how they effect your gameplan. Last night was a good example of that.
This is such an important point. A lot of our supporters focus solely on what weāre doing, assuming that if the manager selects the ārightā team and employs the ārightā tactics, everything will fall into place. But football doesnāt work like thatāour opponents play a massive role too.
Many of the common criticisms and complaints could probably be addressed and explained by the manager, highlighting factors most of us wouldnāt even consider. For example, when we argue that TJ should start ahead of Watt, are we factoring in how McInnes might set his team up to counter that? Or how that decision could create vulnerabilities elsewhere for Kilmarnock to exploit?
No, we see TJ come on for the last 15 minutes, play well, and think, āWell, he shouldāve startedāsurely heād have delivered that same performance over the entire game. Poor choice by the manager.ā Itās rarely that simple.
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13 minutes ago, steelman1991 said:
That IS our summerĀ š¤£
That's trueĀ š
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2 hours ago, Mccus28 said:
Lennon has been poor for weeks now and I assume its because he has been given the captains armband.
I could be mistaken, but Iād attribute it more to his youth. With youth comes inconsistencyāitās inevitable.
As for quality and entertainment, no matter what fans might think, those will always take a back seat to results. Iāve yet to see a club at the foot of the table with fans delighted simply because theyāre playing entertaining football.
Peopleās livelihoods are at stakeāmanagers, players, and even backroom staff. Relegation can mean the difference between someone keeping their job in the office or getting their P45. Last time I checked, you canāt pay your rent with entertainment tokens in place of wages.
I donāt for a moment believe any club in Scotland deliberately sets out to play poorly, but theyāll do whatever is necessary to get results. Sometimes that means an exciting 4-3 like we saw against United, and other times itās the grind of a 1-1 like last night.
Iāve also long supported the idea of summer football. I realise most people arenāt in favour, which is fair enough, but when matches are played in dreadful conditionsārain lashing down, wind howling, fans freezing and soakedāitās bound to affect the quality on the pitch.
Countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania all run their seasons from March to November, and thereās good reason for it. Weāve chosen not to, so we have to accept that on a cold, wet, and windy December night, the football will often reflect the weather.
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All this talk of who should and shouldn't be playing. Maybe time to dust off the ol' tombola.Ā
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2 minutes ago, MJC said:
Iām pleased we won. Arenāt you?Ā
I'm a happy clapper, mind? My hands are rid raw.
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34 minutes ago, MJC said:
This is pish. Only a matter of time until they equalise.
Ah well, always next time, eh?
Are Motherwell Entertaining?
in Club Chat
Posted
I feel the same way if we lose a turgid game 1-0 or if we lose an exciting and entertaining game 4-3.Ā