Motherwell v Ross County - 06/02/24

[grizzlyg]

What a dream that was,   we pumped Ross Co 5-0 but should have been double that if the Bair took his chances.  Spittal had 2 great assists and 2 cracking goals.  The forum was a happy place with everyone smiling.

Ahhh if only that was true...............wait a minute!!!.......😜😜

[Kmcalpin]

A huge result and very entertaining performance. It could easily have been 8 or 9. It was a real all round team effort. Good to see Vale get his first goal on his debut. He does look to have some pace. Nicholson also caught my eye - much more to come from him. What can you say about Blair Spittal?

More of this please!

[numpty]

2 hours ago, steelman1991 said:

Yes - and 2 of the most glaring never even made into the highlights reel (unless I dozed off).

You didn’t, if it was the BBC highlights. Despite being much shorter, the Sky highlights managed to include more actual highlights, including the best angle of Blair’s first goal.

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/13065721/motherwell-5-0-ross-county-scottish-premiership-highlights

[bobbybingo]

Still see folk elsewhere mumping about Bair missing chances. True, he did, but the main criticism of him earlier in the season - if I remember correctly - was he didn't get into the right positions to get chances.

Looks like they've been working on that successfully, and I think he's shown he'll get more goals if he keeps working on his finishing.

[wellwell91]

5 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Still see folk elsewhere mumping about Bair missing chances. True, he did, but the main criticism of him earlier in the season - if I remember correctly - was he didn't get into the right positions to get chances.

Looks like they've been working on that successfully, and I think he's shown he'll get more goals if he keeps working on his finishing.

For me he only missed 1 chance in that he didn’t hit the target (the one in 2nd half where he lifted it over the keeper but past the post) the 2 in the 1st half he hit the target and keeper did what he’s paid for and made good saves. Sometimes you’ve got to give credit where it’s due.

[bobbybingo]

6 minutes ago, wellwell91 said:

For me he only missed 1 chance in that he didn’t hit the target (the one in 2nd half where he lifted it over the keeper but past the post) the 2 in the 1st half he hit the target and keeper did what he’s paid for and made good saves. Sometimes you’ve got to give credit where it’s due.

I wonder if the folk who still say he's no good are actually watching games to see what he brings to the team, or if they're just running with what they were told when we signed him. 

[Clackscat]

34 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

I wonder if the folk who still say he's no good are actually watching games to see what he brings to the team, or if they're just running with what they were told when we signed him. 

Spot on.

Seeing the highlights that first one was an outstanding save by the gk who technically did everything right, stayed big, and brilliant reactions to save with outstretched left foot.

The very best strikers miss chances, more worried if he wasn't in these positions, the Killie one was the most important and he scored!

For sure he'll miss more in the future as will any striker, but playing as he has last 3 games he'll do for me

[Spiderpig]

36 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

I wonder if the folk who still say he's no good are actually watching games to see what he brings to the team, or if they're just running with what they were told when we signed him. 

I thought he was brutal when we signed him, not up to standard, but his improvement has been fantastic that's him up to 8 goals now I think. That said he's still work in progress and that showed in the chances he missed last night, particularly the 2nd one when he failed to take it round the keeper.

He needs to improve his positional play to get on the end of some of the balls into the box, but if he carries on developing we may just have unearthed a good player.

[grizzlyg]

If we had drawn last night the criticism would have been worse .  He is however getting the chances and even had confidence for penalty.  Sadly he isn't a penalty box striker and doesn't react to the countless crosses Gent fires in.

However the big man has come on leaps and bounds and you can see the fans responding to him

[Stuwell2]

Polish him up and sell him on, that’s the Motherwell way. 

[Mad Dog]

2 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

What can you say about Blair Spittal?

Please sign a new three year contract with us?

[Spit_It_Out]

Just felt like everything clicked last night I know we were playing a downbeat Ross County but we still had to turn up get the job done and we done it with a bit of style.I think the confidence that Bair has started to get is not spreading about the team like wildfire it's good to see.

We all know Spittial won't be here next season then downfall of him playing so well sadly will attract teams to the table to offer him what we won't and can't it's the nature of the beast.

I hope he stays but I really can see him moving on.

[David]

3 hours ago, bobbybingo said:

Still see folk elsewhere mumping about Bair missing chances. True, he did, but the main criticism of him earlier in the season - if I remember correctly - was he didn't get into the right positions to get chances.

That was the main criticism of him when he arrived, and it was my primary concern. Up until this season, he didn't look like a striker. His xG and so on suggested that he simply did not get into the positions that strikers need to get into.

All credit goes to Kettlewell and the coaching team, who have given him simple instructions to follow, which are proving effective. 

You'll notice that his chances all kind of look similar, which is why he's scoring. He's still incredibly limited but has the sheer athleticism and size to allow him to take advantage of those limited abilities. 

Basically, focus on what you can do, make sure you do it very well, and forget what you can't because at the age he's at now, he's likely not going to develop those skills anyway.

An example would be his running in behind the defence. We saw him do that multiple times last night. It's a simple enough instruction, but it takes someone with size and speed to carry it out. It also requires a level of defensive intelligence and physical ability to stop, and we don't see that much in the Scottish league. I'm sure Bair would run into issues at a higher level, but that doesn't matter to us. 

[Inflato]

17 minutes ago, David said:

Bair;

An example would be his running in behind the defence. We saw him do that multiple times last night. It's a simple enough instruction, but it takes someone with size and speed to carry it out. It also requires a level of defensive intelligence and physical ability to stop, and we don't see that much in the Scottish league. I'm sure Bair would run into issues at a higher level, but that doesn't matter to us. 

Absolutely this... And hopefully the defensive backline at Morton have the same lack of intelligence as County.

[David]

10 minutes ago, Inflato said:

Absolutely this... And hopefully the defensive backline at Morton have the same lack of intelligence as County.

100%. Bair should see a fair amount of success against Morton. Let's hope he can convert some of the chances.

[Ya Bezzer!]

Bair had a good game last night in terms of general play but....he's a striker that missed, what, 5-6 really good chances in the match?

Going forward he's probably not going to get a third of those chances in a game.

It's important for the team that his finishing improves because having a striker that can put the ball in the net makes all the difference in this league.  You really need to be putting away at least 1 in 3.

He's made big strides forward and it's not my intention to slate the guy, I'm glad he's looking more confident, but it's one of those one's where if a different player had missed those chances they'd probably be getting a harder time about it.

 

[santheman]

Having watched County's last 2 games they actually looked not too bad on the ball and I was fully expecting a hard midfield shithouse type of game.

Maybe the early goal settled us and you could see the confidence begin to rise as the half progressed.

Forward instead of sideway passes, shots from distance, things we've been screaming out for.

County were shite but maybe because we made them look like that?

Just keep wondering how many more we might have scored if we had played 2 strikers but that's only a cherry on the cake thinking.

The team will be coming into training with a wee bit extra spring in their steps which can only be good.

 

[David]

2 minutes ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

Bair had a good game last night in terms of general play but....he's a striker that missed, what, 5-6 really good chances in the match?

Do you know what kind of striker scores all of those chances, though? Erling Haaland. 

3 minutes ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

It's important for the team that his finishing improves because having a striker that can put the ball in the net makes all the difference in this league.  You really need to be putting away at least 1 in 3.

The thing is, he is putting away almost 1 in 3, but the most important stat is his goals-per-game ratio. 0.3 goals per game, so almost a 1 in 3 ratio. That's almost the exact same as Kyogo, Luis Palma, and Cyriel Dessers this season, and is better than Maeda.

That's a remarkable stat considering his previous season at St Johnstone was laughable in terms of goals per game. 

If you're looking for a striker who has a ratio of scoring 1 in 3 chances, then you're really looking at elite level strikers.

14 minutes ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

He's made big strides forward and it's not my intention to slate the guy, I'm glad he's looking more confident, but it's one of those one's where if a different player had missed those chances they'd probably be getting a harder time about it.

I don't agree. I think the fact he's getting chances and scoring them of late is really all we can ask. Anyone who's saying, "Yeah, well, he scored five in his last four or whatever is fine, but he should be scoring three goals per game", is mental.

[Richie]

To be fair to Bair the two 1 on 1s were good saves, the first one was a Martinez-esque save spreading himself, the second was a good save at Bair's feet.

They weren't wild misses or anything.

I think for the first one Bair would maybe have had more luck if he dinked the keeper like he did the other week.

[Ya Bezzer!]

13 minutes ago, santheman said:

Having watched County's last 2 games they actually looked not too bad on the ball and I was fully expecting a hard midfield shithouse type of game.

I don't think County were that bad on the ball last night, it's just off the ball they were stinking.  They are basically playing with a new keeper, two out of three centre halves and two sitting midfielders and I think that lack of cohesion and familiarity was probably a big problem for them.

Getting two early goals is going to sink most teams and certainly teams with County's away form, last away win was in September.

[gaz7]

11 minutes ago, Richie said:

To be fair to Bair the two 1 on 1s were good saves, the first one was a Martinez-esque save spreading himself, the second was a good save at Bair's feet.

They weren't wild misses or anything.

I think for the first one Bair would maybe have had more luck if he dinked the keeper like he did the other week.

Yep agree with that richie plus his "offside" goal was some finish showing confidence, his run to the left then darted right on breakaway and Spittal put him in for him to dink it just wide was great movement from him and also he was waiting for a tap in from paton who made bad pass.

A big thing I noticed last night and will continue is defenders are starting to fear him giving room to our other players which again is another arrow to his bow.

Someone with his size strength and speed will always be capable of something in our league and why I couldn't believe stick he was getting earlier in season without having had a chance with us .

Bevis is same and yes he is bambi on ice at times but he has all the attributes of bair that I mentioned and can use them in different ways hence the reason I at present always want him in the team.

[SteelmaninOZ]

Oh my! What a goal 

 

[David]

8 minutes ago, gaz7 said:

Someone with his size strength and speed will always be capable of something in our league and why I couldn't believe stick he was getting earlier in season without having had a chance with us .

Well, he had spent an entire season previously in our league, playing over thirty games and accomplishing pretty much the same as he had previously in his career, save for a stint in the lower leagues of Norway. Absolutely nothing of note.

So, the stick was entirely warranted. I'm sure he'd admit that. But just as much as the stick was warranted on his numbers before signing for us, so is the praise he's getting now.

It works both ways.

[SteelmaninOZ]

Nice build up for this one.

 

[SteelmaninOZ]

Feed the Bair.