David
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Posts posted by David
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15 hours ago, MJC said:
That’s true and yes it is much easier to say he’s been a failure after six months of him being here rather than when he signed. Every signing we make is a gamble, I know that and I accept it.
But regardless of what I or anyone else thought before he had kicked a ball for us the fact in the matter is that this is another signing made during the summer that didn’t work out. The manager and the head of scouting are the ones paid to take responsibility for signings and are in a better position than anyone in the support or this forum to judge a player, or so you would hope anyway.
Yes, but there's only so much that a recruitment team and manager can do when they are recruiting players. From virtually every angle the Shaw signing looked like a sound piece of business.
He's 25 years old, Scottish and knows our league, he has scored 24 goals in our top division with Hibs, Kilmarnock and Ross County, and 23 in the lower leagues of Scotland.
In fairness, he started two league games for us and scored two goals. In one of those starts, he came off injured after less than an hour and had been deployed as an attacking midfielder rather than a forward. As a sub, the most time he got on the park was 30 minutes against Rangers.
Would it have been different had he gotten a run of actual starts? We'll never know. The stats would suggest he would have found the net for us, but he didn't really get much of a chance beyond coming on with anywhere from ten to twenty minutes to play in games.
I could accept criticism of how Kettlewell utilised him for sure, but criticism of the actual signing? Not so much.
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3 hours ago, MJC said:
Another failure from Kettlewell and Daws.
Kettlewell and Daws weren't the only ones who were behind the idea of us signing Shaw. Go back and read the responses when he signed. He was considered a "decent signing" who would kick on if given playing time.
Funnily enough, there's no sign of you claiming he would be a disaster and that Kettlewell and Daws had got it wrong. You only jumped in and made that claim with 20/20 hindsight.
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9 hours ago, gaz7 said:
Think your wrong here spider. Biereth wages are miniscule in a club like arsenal and reason he is away is quite simply better league for him to be tested in.
I agree, it likely has very little to do with financial savings on the relatively low wages Biereth gets at Arsenal.
It's more likely that the loan management team in London has looked at his numbers and performances up here and figured he's shown that he can perform at this level and that it would be more worthwhile seeing if he can do a job at a higher level for the next six months rather than continue as he is here, which would really tell them nothing.
What this situation should tell us is that we cannot rely on loan signings. They will either come in and do terribly like Shaw or do well like Biereth and end up becoming a loss risk.
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48 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:
As I said, I've no problem with anyone thinking certain players aren't good enough for us, far better than Bair have had that accusation thrown at them. It's the amateur stuff I can't agree with.
Ideally, we'd be signing higher quality all over the park, but we are where we are these days, and we're not on our lonesome. Bair being so high up the scoring charts proves that.
I think if you look at his record to now, the amateur accusation is perfectly valid.
He played for a largely terrible Vancouver Whitecaps side that finished 23rd & 17th overall in the two seasons he played double figures for them. He managed three goals in three seasons.
He then moved on to HamKam in the Norwegian 2nd tier, where he hit four goals in 17 games.
At St Johnstone he scored 1 goal in 33 games.
Now, I understand everyone is getting all giddy because he scored two against Livi and got another against Hibs, but as I said, it'll take more than a wee purple patch of a couple of decent games to really change my mind.
And again, I hope he does. If he goes on to repeat those performances and manages to grab another two or three goals then I'll be a happy camper.
But you're right, we are where we are. And so long as we continue to sign players largely based on "gut instincts" and having a checklist that consists of him being "an honest professional" and "running his socks off" we likely won't see much improvement.
47 minutes ago, Yassin said:I rate Bair more than you do but think you've been pretty reasoned and fair about your view on him. Do find the way this has been worded a little odd though. He'd already scored 5 by the 2nd of January, its obviously entirely possible he doesn't score another goal this season but he's already been about twice as productive as you had predicted so far.
Well, I said that his stats and career average suggested anywhere between 3-5 goals for us. So, he's hit that. Hopefully he can do above average numbers for us.
He's been a halfway decent player, who has done more than the extremely low bar we all set for him, in a very poor Motherwell team. Credit where it's due I guess?
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1 hour ago, bobbybingo said:
I'd be interested to know what stats suggest he is not a footballer.
Okay, a footballer at the level we should be signing and playing.
I feel many think he's done relatively well based on the fact that the bar was so low with him to begin with.
Basically, he's done okay-ish in possibly the worst Motherwell team I've seen in many a year. If that's good enough for you then that's perfectly fine. I still don't rate him, and definitely not enough to warrant a two-year contract. It'll take more than two or so games where he looks decent to change my mind on that front.
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Just now, bobbybingo said:
Yeah, I know you think certain players aren't fit to play professional football. How's that going?
It hasn't changed much really. I said before a ball was kicked that I reckoned he'd get us around 4-5 goals this season. He's played a couple of good games, and hopefully he kicks on from that. I doubt he will, but you never know.
From almost the start of the season until the Livi game he looked like someone who tries really hard but doesn't actually accomplish much. And that's in a terrible team.
But again, hopefully he confounds all the stats and miraculously becomes a footballer at the age of 24.
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Kettlewell is known for his love of Canadian amateur-level players. He hangs his hat on those kinds of signings.
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17 hours ago, bobbybingo said:
He was on trial with Luton's development squad, so he's obviously rated, but we really don't need to bring in a teenager who has played around 20 games to help keep us up.
Like Biereth, who had played 13 games and is only 20?
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3 hours ago, El Grew said:
As far as I can tell, there was nothing in the statement from the outgoing interim CE about other things being done. However if you have information or knowledge to the contrary please feel free to enlighten.
He didn't mention in his statement specifics about the YouTube video either, did he? It will be a multi-faceted approach. I pretty much guarantee this to be the case, because for it not to be would be a complete farce.
And as much as our board maybe doesn't have the best track record of late, they're not absolute morons.
2 hours ago, El Grew said:That’s easy. You don’t. I think the statements made by the present Chairman and CEO in December, albeit rather clumsily, made the point the club was seeking additional investment. This raised the obvious question as to what the strategy would be to do so. In this respect it would be reasonable to expect that the club would have a written business plan or strategy document as to what their approach was going to be to attract such investment.
Yes, but how do you get the word out that the club is seeking additional investment? The Chairman and CEO making a statement isn't going to do anything to get said statement in front of people, is it?
As I've said already, it will more than likely be a multi-faceted approach. The social media campaign is designed to get the club and our message in front of people.
The video has been seen almost 2.5 million times on Twitter, which is an excellent return considering the club account has 60,000 followers.
It has also been retweeted by Tom Green, bizarrely. An actor, director and comedian from Canada with a Twitter reach of around 300,000 of his own.
So, despite criticism of the video itself, we cannot deny that it's doing what it was created to do. Draw attention.
It's then the job of those who run the club to turn any interested parties drawn from that attention into a potential investor. That's where the written business plan and strategy document you mention would come into play.
None of the above can exist on an island. They all have to co-exist for the campaign to be successful.
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3 hours ago, steelboy said:
We are obviously trying to get Elon Musk to buy us.
Or at least sponsor us. Imagine that? Tesla on the shirts, Kettlewell, O'Donnell and Mugabi cutting about North Lan in those horrific Tesla trucks?
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1 minute ago, Kris-A-Goalda said:
It's got 1.5million views across X - maybe not SEO-savvy enough for YouTube but it's doing the numbers.
It's doing really well on X, but it could also have been doing a lot better on YouTube as well, which would have went on to further boost those numbers. More views on YouTube usually results in more people sharing videos to X. It's all a huge digital circular economy in that regard.
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37 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:
I hope you're right; you are probably right. I don't like the video but then again I know nothing about advertising. This type of approach may be the in thing in advertising for all I know. However, I hope after months of planning, work and maybe investment, that there's a lot more to this initiative than that. I believe it was created by a leading advertising agency. I hope they know what they're doing.
As I said before, look at most smaller company/brand advertising on television during the ad break of any TV show. They usually come off as cringe-worthy. But there's a reason for that.
The only mistake I think the club made is in spending time coming up with this really imaginative video, and then using the blandest YouTube video title of all time.
"WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST IN THIS FOOTBALL CLUB"
That is piss poor. It has zero keyword value. The whole idea of this video is to try to make it go viral and get it out there. That title does absolutely none of that.
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6 hours ago, El Grew said:
December 2023 Outgoing Club Chairman statement: “We have undertaken a large amount of work and held numerous discussions - the final stages of a fund-raising initiative are almost complete and will be ready to be shared early in the new year.”
So this is the outcome. FFS it would’ve been less embarrassing if they had announced they were going to have a series of bucket collections.
I seriously doubt that one single YouTube video is the outcome of the "large amount of work and numerous discussions" that have taken place.
It'll be part of it, but it won't be the only thing that's done.
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4 minutes ago, steelboy said:
Expanding the support and finding an investor are pipe dreams.
So, the club should just not bother looking to expand the support or attract outside investment? Just say "fuck it, it'll never happen, so who cares?"
Honestly, if they did that? I'd consider it negligent.
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Just now, steelboy said:
They are also far more realistic than increasing the support by a significant amount or finding sponsors or investors.
Again, it's not an either/or situation. I'd hope we're coming at the issue from a number of different angles.
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2 minutes ago, Richie said:
I don't understand what it's meant to achieve.
It's supposed to achieve exactly what we're doing here right now. Discussion and attention.
3 minutes ago, Richie said:When there was talk of an 'Investment initiative', I thought there was some sort of feasible commercial/financing agreement in the pipeline.
I'm sure the club are still going down that route. It's not an either/or situation.
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Also, the mention of Taylor Swift was a great touch. She's been all over the media at the moment, both because of her new love interest in the NFL and Jo Koy making a joke about her at the Golden Globes.
Even a minuscule percentage of the current Taylor Swift internet traffic mentioning some mid-level "soccer" club from Scotland having a wee boy make a funny remark about her in a video ad will be more interest than we normally see on any other videos we put out there.
I just hope the media team have tagged Swift in the video keywords on YouTube. I imagine they will have.
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The first thing I'd say is that it would be worth looking at what kind of advertising we all see daily. Think about the amount of stuff on television during the ad breaks that we think "bloody hell, that's ridiculous" only to then be humming the daft tune from it while messing about the house, or mentioning it in conversation later.
Unless you're a top-level brand like Nike, Adidas or Apple you really can't take yourself too seriously in any ad campaigns. That's the first thing I'd be telling the club if I was working on that project.
The kind of ad we put out has a good chance of working on a few levels:
Relatability: We're using a self-deprecating type of humour to acknowledge the challenges or stereotypes associated with mid-sized clubs in the football world. By doing so, we hope to become more relatable to potential small investors who appreciate the club's humility and authenticity.
Memorability: Using humour in advertisements can make campaigns more memorable. Creating funny and memorable content, especially if it involves self-deprecating elements, could increase the likelihood of the target audience remembering and sharing the content.
Differentiation: Acknowledging the limitations or common perceptions of mid-sized clubs like ours can help Motherwell stand out. By humorously addressing these aspects, the club can demonstrate a unique and self-aware identity, setting itself apart from larger or more prestigious football clubs. Basically, we know what we are and what we are not.
Audience Engagement: Like it or not, humorous and silly content tends to generate higher engagement on social media platforms. The club is likely looking to leverage an ad like this to create engaging content that resonates with fans (not just Motherwell fans, I may add), encouraging them to share, comment, and actively participate in the online community.
Now, I know there'll be people who disagree, but that's basically how it works. And it's an approach that has been successful for many companies, which is why they use it.
it's not an exact science, of course, and the ad itself will only work if the club get it right with distribution channels and then manage to provide a serious front when someone gets in touch, by way of a pitch deck or business and investment plan.
The ad is only the gateway. A way to get eyeballs and attention, however that comes about doesn't really matter.
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16 hours ago, Well Well said:
Nope not for me. Has been given so many chances to prove his worth and has failed miserably to take any of them hence being out on loan. Sooner he is off the wage bill the better.
Again, if you think a club like Motherwell, where our starting eleven quality isn't all that great due to finances, can afford better than Maguire as a backup, then I'm not really sure what to tell you.
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On 1/2/2024 at 6:41 PM, wellfan said:
I measure Kettlewell on this season. It was KVV who saved us last season.
Completely discounting the second part of the statement, I agree with the first. What Kettlewell did last season doesn't really come into how we should act this season.
He has a 19% win rate in the league, which isn't great, but more important for me is that we're currently on course to finish the league campaign in 9th or 10th if we continue as we are. And that's if we don't really improve at all, and finish the season with around 7 wins and 14 draws.
Going by the points tallies in the past five seasons (discounting the Covid season) that should be enough to see us finish 9th or 10th. 11th spot would be outside the average, but of course is still possible if unlikely.
But bear in mind, the above is based on us continuing this season as we have been. I don't know if we could get worse. I do think we could see an uptick in form, even if it's slight. A win or two above the averages mentioned will be enough to see us finish the season safe.
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6 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said:
Maguire would have been handy to bring on yesterday when we needed fresh legs to close the game out.
He isnt the answer long term. But when you have a threadbare squad that requires employing your most productive midfielder at RWB, I dont think we can be sniffy.
Exactly.
When I see people saying Maguire isn't the level we want from someone coming off the bench to help us see out games, I wonder exactly what kind of player those people think is willing to come to Motherwell to play that role.
Not every squad member can be or has to be, an up-and-coming player pushing for the first team.
If I was Kettlewell I'd sit down with the player and make it clear to him what his role at the club will be. A bench player who starts games when we're short of first-choice midfielders, but mainly someone who can come on with 20 minutes or so to go and help us see out a game.
If he's happy with that role, I'd keep him around unless he's on first 11 wages. Again, we need guys like that. He's of the standard that a player fulfilling that role at a club like ours should be.
Also, if the worst happens and we end up going down he's already got a Championship winners medal in his pocket, so he'll come in handy.
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On 1/1/2024 at 7:01 PM, bobbybingo said:
Maguire is a nobody from down south that we just happen to know. If we aren't looking for/can't get better than him, we're in trouble.
Oh, we will be looking. But that doesn't mean we're getting.
I'd rather have a nobody from down south that knows the club, knows the players, can fit right in and we kind of know what we're getting, than someone brand new who we'd need to hand another contract to.
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On 12/31/2023 at 11:08 AM, Kmcalpin said:
I'd like to see the midfield and defence bolstered but it all depends on who is available of course.
Depending on who's available on the market I wouldn't be against holding onto Maguire as an option. He's not perfect by any stretch, but I'd rather have him than another nobody from down south on a six-month deal.
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Anything but a defeat would be nice, continue the momentum we started this weekend hopefully.
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2023/24 ins & outs discussion
in Club Chat
Posted
That's exactly what I meant. The price I pay for using my phone to mess about on a forum when I should be working 👀