2025/26 Ins & Outs Discussion

[wunderwell]

So far I have heard with posters we should keep

O'Donnell
McGinn
Halliday
Watt
Slattery
Casey
Paton

So what changes for next season?

 

[wellgirl]

Just now, wunderwell said:

So far I have heard with posters we should keep

O'Donnell
McGinn
Halliday
Watt
Slattery
Casey
Paton

So what changes for next season?

 

Slattery has done well on the whole since he came back from injury and his contract has already been extended. As has SOD and McGinns. Pretty sure there will be changes but it all comes down to the money the board make available to Wimmer. 

[wellsince75]

7 minutes ago, wunderwell said:

So far I have heard with posters we should keep

O'Donnell
McGinn
Halliday
Watt
Slattery
Casey
Paton

So what changes for next season?

 

Slattery is the pick of the crop. 

Being brutal that's the only one I'd have signed, possibly 2 from the rest for squad members. 

Also worth noting the  lack of pace from that group.   Other than Slattery I just don't see them adding to the high press. 

[Spit_It_Out]

Slattery has been fantastic for us and without him coming back I dread to think the mess we could have been in.

I know he has signed on with us but a few eyes will be watching his form.

[weeyin]

I've rated Slattery since the day he joined us. I'm happy a lot of his early detractors are seeing the light this year.

[robsterwood]

Would only have kept Slattery out of that list.

Al have no pace and way past Thier best and are reason why were in such a lowly position.

[wellon]

On 5/9/2025 at 5:01 PM, wellfan said:

We do have a bad habit of fetishising former Motherwell players. That said, Cornelius is probably still a better option than the likes of Paton, Davor, and Callachan. I do imagine, however, that Wimmer has his eyes on other potential targets, and that Cornelius will end up at another League 2 side or similar. 

I'd say Dean is better than Davor but is that a good enough reason to sign him, unless he's come on a good bit in last few years , I'd leave alone.

Paton has his moments , but seems to be the boo boys fave at minute. 

[Spiderpig]

I think we all  need to wait a few weeks till all of the loan players and non renewed contracts are gone and then see who MW brings in to rebuild the squad alongside the players we know are staying for next season.

All the pant wetting over SOD, McGinn, Paton, etc, getting extended deals when we don't know if they will even be regular starters next season depending on who MW brings in.

So let's all wait till we see what sort of squad we have come August before we start the, relegation talk in September.

[grizzlyg]

7 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

I think we all  need to wait a few weeks till all of the loan players and non renewed contracts are gone and then see who MW brings in to rebuild the squad alongside the players we know are staying for next season.

All the pant wetting over SOD, McGinn, Paton, etc, getting extended deals when we don't know if they will even be regular starters next season depending on who MW brings in.

So let's all wait till we see what sort of squad we have come August before we start the, relegation talk in September.

Someone talking sense,  well said

[Spit_It_Out]

I think McGinn has too much respect for himself to be sitting on the bench week in week out regular starter a shoe in and i wouldn't the too fussed about that soon as he got injured the whole defence fell to bits.

Aslong as SOD isn't expected to to play center back role we shall be fine.

[Kmcalpin]

I don't see either SOD or McGinn being starters next season. The defence needs a clear out, if contractually feasible. Our goals against tally but also the manner of the goals we're losing support that view. They'll be fine as squad back ups.

[Kmcalpin]

As things stand, I reckon we need somewhere between 6 and 8 new recruits over the summer. Exact numbers will depend upon a few OOC players like Casey and Seddon being offered and accepting new deals. MW will also know who he thinks can be improved. Jordan McGhee's position has also to be confirmed officially. A few uncertainties then.

As of today I think we'll need:

1 left wing back

1 right wing back?

2 central defenders

2 midfielders, possibly 3, including a defensive destroyer and a replacement for Lennon Miller (not necessarily the exact same kind of player). 

1 striker (a physical/ mobile target man)

[MelvinBragg]

2 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

I don't see either SOD or McGinn being starters next season. The defence needs a clear out, if contractually feasible. Our goals against tally but also the manner of the goals we're losing support that view. They'll be fine as squad back ups.

Do we need two backups the wrong side of thirty? And will their salaries reflect their roles as backup..?

[SteelmaninOZ]

3 hours ago, grizzlyg said:

Someone talking sense,  well said

What on here? 😇

[wunderwell]

2 hours ago, MelvinBragg said:

Do we need two backups the wrong side of thirty? And will their salaries reflect their roles as backup..?

Great point and highly doubt it. Captain and a Vice Captain there.
We can add Koutroumbis, Wilson, Balmer, Nicholson, Robinson to the back ups.
I don't think anyone's "pant wetting" - but points like Melvin's are here to be discussed.
That's likely to be a good bit of budget spent on these two as examples and it's clear Wimmer needs to bring in quality - as there isn't enough of it in our massive 34 man squad.
 

[David]

On 5/10/2025 at 2:59 PM, Mad Dog said:

As we're safe now, I'd rather see these boys on the bench for the remaining games rather than the loanees that have had opportunities but haven't impressed at all.

There's still a bit to play for. 

Each league placing is worth an extra £150,000 or so to us, so the difference between finishing 7th and 9th, both of which are still feasible, could be an extra £300,000+ to the club. 

[Kmcalpin]

5 hours ago, MelvinBragg said:

Do we need two backups the wrong side of thirty? And will their salaries reflect their roles as backup..?

We need continuity and stability on the playing side. By and large we need players who are solid, reliable and good but not too good, otherwise they are head hunted by those further up the food chain. That plus a sprinkling of home grown talent. In other words just like the Wright era at Perth - maybe not in style though. 

That said, I agree with your point Greg. However, for better or for worse, they are with us for next season and we'll have to factor that in to our playing budget. It is what it is. 

[David]

I think the process for someone like Michael Wimmer is to start making changes to the squad as and when possible, while retaining players he believes can either adapt to his style, or who he sees as decent backups and "continuity" players. 

Blowing everything up and recruiting a whole bunch of guys who have never played in Scotland almost never works.

[wellgirl]

3 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

We need continuity and stability on the playing side. By and large we need players who are solid, reliable and good but not too good, otherwise they are head hunted by those further up the food chain. That plus a sprinkling of home grown talent. In other words just like the Wright era at Perth - maybe not in style though. 

That said, I agree with your point Greg. However, for better or for worse, they are with us for next season and we'll have to factor that in to our playing budget. It is what it is. 

None of us will get the answers to the questions some people are asking. The club won't tell fans players salaries - Motherwell made the decision to sign SOD and McGinn again. Wimmer is getting the blame for SOD but his extension was agreed before Wimmer came in. It's up to the club to make decisions - we aren't all going to agree with them. 

There are fans who think McGinn has been missed and others who think otherwise. 

We also don't know who is staying or going -I'll happily put my trust in Wimmer for now 

 

[wellgirl]

I also am as frustrated as anyone this year. But there have been comments on here this year about how spineless the team are and how they would never win against St Johnstone and then Dundee - and they did. If Motherwell are so rubbish all of the time then why have we got safety for the 41st season in a row 

I was also talking to a couple of people from the well society last week re Kettlewell. They had nothing but good things to say about him. They said that he was very involved with the community and he used to send players out to see fans who were unwell and who might never see another game again. They had nothing but good things to say about him. That he genuinely cared about the fan base and the wider community. 

They were genuinely sorry he was gone even if it might have been for the best in the long run. They spoke very highly of him and the way he conducted himself around the club. I get why people are sore at the way he left - but he's been rinsed all over social media when people who knew him were gutted that he left. 

It's just got really negative lately and right now there are people calling for Wimmer to be sacked elsewhere on social media. Because we aren't higher in the table. I personally can't understand that 

(I honestly can't be arsed right now. I've never seen it so negative and it's got nothing to do with Kettlewell, the fact that people are calling for Wimmers head less than three months in is a nonsense in my view) 

[wellgirl]

4 hours ago, Kmcalpin said:

We need continuity and stability on the playing side. By and large we need players who are solid, reliable and good but not too good, otherwise they are head hunted by those further up the food chain. That plus a sprinkling of home grown talent. In other words just like the Wright era at Perth - maybe not in style though. 

That said, I agree with your point Greg. However, for better or for worse, they are with us for next season and we'll have to factor that in to our playing budget. It is what it is. 

The problem is we really do not have the sprinkling of home grown talent anymore. Miller aside. That's not putting down the young lads who are doing well elsewhere but I don't think they are ready to make the step up. Wilson struggled this year after a bright start.

We can't rely on young players these days. Cornelius was offered terms and refused them because he wanted to progress down south and was obviously on better money than we could pay him. I think the days of youth players coming through are sadly long gone - and even if they do perform then they might go elsewhere. Like Rice to Rangers and Johnson (we really messed up with that one). 

 

[weeyin]

14 hours ago, wellgirl said:

We can't rely on young players these days. Cornelius was offered terms and refused them because he wanted to progress down south and was obviously on better money than we could pay him. I think the days of youth players coming through are sadly long gone - and even if they do perform then they might go elsewhere. Like Rice to Rangers and Johnson (we really messed up with that one). 

 

I think we'll still see youngsters coming through, but you're right that a lot of the prospects will be nicked by other teams before we see them. That happens to teams much bigger than is, and isn't likely to end soon. That's why I'm in agreement with those people, like our CEO, who say the development payments need to increase. They haven't changed for a number of years while transfer prices continue to rise exponentially.

The Covid seasons created a gap in development which hasn't helped, but at least we kept our academy active. Of course you can't guarantee any of the youngsters will make the step up, but if we do find any, the fact that we can offer first team football sooner still gives us some advantage.

Cornelius was a Hibs youngster who didn't sign for us until he was 17 or so, so while we helped his development, he isn't really an academy product.

 

[texanwellfan]

I hope Miller has a moved lined up or has decided to stay another season. I hate all the media rumors going on and on. Be nice to have that noise silenced quickly. 

[Mccus28]

Im looking forward to MW getting the chance to get his own players in as I must admit, I feel sorry for him a tad, trying to get a tune out of some of these players, it must be hard to come in when he did with little or no options to immediately change things as he was burdened by SK's mess.

 

I don't know what it is though but I just don't get the feeling MW will stay with us long but hopefully im wrong and he has a long successful spell with us!!!!!!!!

[grizzlyg]

22 hours ago, wellgirl said:

I also am as frustrated as anyone this year. But there have been comments on here this year about how spineless the team are and how they would never win against St Johnstone and then Dundee - and they did. If Motherwell are so rubbish all of the time then why have we got safety for the 41st season in a row 

I was also talking to a couple of people from the well society last week re Kettlewell. They had nothing but good things to say about him. They said that he was very involved with the community and he used to send players out to see fans who were unwell and who might never see another game again. They had nothing but good things to say about him. That he genuinely cared about the fan base and the wider community. 

They were genuinely sorry he was gone even if it might have been for the best in the long run. They spoke very highly of him and the way he conducted himself around the club. I get why people are sore at the way he left - but he's been rinsed all over social media when people who knew him were gutted that he left. 

It's just got really negative lately and right now there are people calling for Wimmer to be sacked elsewhere on social media. Because we aren't higher in the table. I personally can't understand that 

(I honestly can't be arsed right now. I've never seen it so negative and it's got nothing to do with Kettlewell, the fact that people are calling for Wimmers head less than three months in is a nonsense in my view) 

I have no doubt about all of those things about Kettlewell but he went down in my estimation with the way he left the club and basically throwing support under a bus to cover up his failings. 

We move on.   I really like Wimmer, comes across as a really good guy and ahmut a great assistant and link between players and manager.  Looking forward to seeing what players we sign