2025/26 Ins & Outs Discussion

[well_said]

1 hour ago, grizzlyg said:

Club didnt say much on website apart from good luck for the future.   Maybe his pal SK can get him a job at rugby park

It wont be worth his while going to killie as kettlewell wont last too long , hopefully.

[Well-Made]

4 hours ago, well_said said:

It wont be worth his while going to killie as kettlewell wont last too long , hopefully.

Maybe he's been offered the managers job.. 😛

[unknown]

On 11/11/2025 at 8:56 AM, grizzlyg said:

Jim Paterson new Head Of Academy Coaching.     Richard Foster left to explore opportunities elsewhere 

https://waterfordfc.ie/2025/11/20/richard-foster-named-blues-assistant-coach/

He's been named Assistant Manager at Waterford in Ireland

[Kmcalpin]

2 hours ago, unknown said:

https://waterfordfc.ie/2025/11/20/richard-foster-named-blues-assistant-coach/

He's been named Assistant Manager at Waterford in Ireland

A somewhat odd move no?

[weeyin]

Mates from their Rangers days I think.

Maybe he's decided he prefers the assistant role as a step closer to being a manager.

[Spiderpig]

16 hours ago, weeyin said:

Mates from their Rangers days I think.

Maybe he's decided he prefers the assistant role as a step closer to being a manager.

Or maybe just getting more money than he was on at Fir Park, plus Waterford is a bit nicer than the shire.

[Kmcalpin]

Surely we're looking to bring in another striker next month along with a relief left back. Probably a few departures on the cards too maybe on loan, eg Stuparevic et al,  to clear the decks a little. 

[Thunderlips]

29 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Surely we're looking to bring in another striker next month along with a relief left back. Probably a few departures on the cards too maybe on loan, eg Stuparevic et al,  to clear the decks a little. 

Yeah I agree we need another striker espcially with Maswanhise being unable shortly for the African Cup of Nations. Be keen to see what movement happens in January now that now that JBA has had nearly 6 months with the squad.

[weeyin]

Oli Shaw re-joining after his Accies contract us annulled.

You read this totally made up story here first (but good enough to start a rumour).

 

[grizzlyg]

26 minutes ago, weeyin said:

Oli Shaw re-joining after his Accies contract us annulled.

You read this totally made up story here first (but good enough to start a rumour).

 

I will put the brown paper bag away then!! Jeez had me worried 

[texanwellfan]

57 minutes ago, grizzlyg said:

I will put the brown paper bag away then!! Jeez had me worried 

Dangerous stuff from wee yin. People Might keel over grasping their chest after that fist bit and not get to the second sentence 😳

[Spiderpig]

3 hours ago, weeyin said:

Oli Shaw re-joining after his Accies contract us annulled.

You read this totally made up story here first (but good enough to start a rumour).

 

Made up rumour or not, shaw has scored a fair few goals for accies, significantly more than out current alleged strikers Stamatelopoulos and Hendry so why not.

[AllyMax]

23 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

Made up rumour or not, shaw has scored a fair few goals for accies, significantly more than out current alleged strikers Stamatelopoulos and Hendry so why not.

And zero goals for us when he was here, missing sitters galore.

[Spiderpig]

24 minutes ago, AllyMax said:

And zero goals for us when he was here, missing sitters galore.

So not much difference from our current alleged strikers then. sometimes players need a change, step down a league to regain their confidence etc.

The point im msling is that previous performznces counts for nothing look at Theo Bair before we signed him so never say never, maybe JBA could  get the best from him, and being honest the bar is not set that high with our current options.

[well_said]

1 hour ago, Spiderpig said:

Made up rumour or not, shaw has scored a fair few goals for accies, significantly more than out current alleged strikers Stamatelopoulos and Hendry so why not.

It will be a lot easier to score goals against league one defences, he was never good enough for the premiership. The championship and below is his level . Although AP and Hendry are not scoring as many goals as we think they should they are still miles better than Shaw.

[weeyin]

2 hours ago, Spiderpig said:

Made up rumour or not, shaw has scored a fair few goals for accies, significantly more than out current alleged strikers Stamatelopoulos and Hendry so why not.

We have seen him at our level and it wasn't exactly successful. 

But his League One exploits and his prior connections are what makes a good rumour. 

If we do bring in a striker I fully expect it to be someone JBA knows or has worked with. They need to know the system and hit the ground running. 

[weeyin]

1 hour ago, Spiderpig said:

So not much difference from our current alleged strikers then. sometimes players need a change, step down a league to regain their confidence etc.

The point im msling is that previous performznces counts for nothing look at Theo Bair before we signed him so never say never, maybe JBA could  get the best from him, and being honest the bar is not set that high with our current options.

Oli Shaw had the same coaches and training as Theo Bair when they were at Fir Park.  So even if the environment was good for Theo, it didn't help Shaw. 

[Jonesy]

10 hours ago, Spiderpig said:

So not much difference from our current alleged strikers then. sometimes players need a change, step down a league to regain their confidence etc.

What's all these sitters Ap Stam and Hendry have been missing?

[Spiderpig]

17 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

What's all these sitters Ap Stam and Hendry have been missing?

Lets not kid ourselves here, Stamatelopoulos does not fit the system we play apart from a few penalties he has been brutal and shows no sign of improvement, most games he played he was anonymous.

Hendry puts himself about and does show promise so time will tell on him. 

We definately need at least 1 striker brought in during January, probably 2 as what we currently have is not working.

 

[0Neils40yarder]

11 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

Lets not kid ourselves here, Stamatelopoulos does not fit the system we play apart from a few penalties he has been brutal and shows no sign of improvement, most games he played he was anonymous.

Hendry puts himself about and does show promise so time will tell on him. 

We definately need at least 1 striker brought in during January, probably 2 as what we currently have is not working.

 

No sure why you quoted him, if you're unwilling to answer his question 

[andalg]

16 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

Lets not kid ourselves here, Stamatelopoulos does not fit the system we play apart from a few penalties he has been brutal and shows no sign of improvement, most games he played he was anonymous.

Hendry puts himself about and does show promise so time will tell on him. 

We definately need at least 1 striker brought in during January, probably 2 as what we currently have is not working.

 

We are sitting third in the league and only lost two games so far.  Maybe the system is working ? 

[Jonesy]

21 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

Lets not kid ourselves here, Stamatelopoulos does not fit the system we play apart from a few penalties he has been brutal and shows no sign of improvement, most games he played he was anonymous.

Hendry puts himself about and does show promise so time will tell on him. 

We definately need at least 1 striker brought in during January, probably 2 as what we currently have is not working.

 

They're not scoring because the goals are coming from elsewhere and/or they're not getting the service.

All these sitters "similar to Shaw" that you claimed they're missing are just made up.

How good they may or may not be is a different conversation.

 

Also, "what we currently have isn't working"? That's just bollocks. We're the 4th highest scorers in the league and the league's top goal scorer is a Motherwell player.

[Spiderpig]

33 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

 

Also, "what we currently have isn't working"? That's just bollocks. We're the 4th highest scorers in the league and the league's top goal scorer is a Motherwell player.

Yes the top goal scorer is a motherwell player a winger/ midfielder where the vast majority of our goals have come from,  who will soon be going off to play in the AFCON tournament and be unavailable for a month at least.

So presumably our alleged strikers will step up and fill the gap, very unlikely so i hope we have signing targets identified.

[Jonesy]

16 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

Yes the top goal scorer is a motherwell player a winger/ midfielder where the vast majority of our goals have come from,  who will soon be going off to play in the AFCON tournament and be unavailable for a month at least.

So presumably our alleged strikers will step up and fill the gap, very unlikely so i hope we have signing targets identified.

What difference does his position make? He's still the top goalscorer in the league (and potentially the country), so the system clearly is working.

It wont matter if we bring in Erling Haaland in January if the set-up continues to work as it currently is where the goals keep coming from elsewhere or the striker is not being provided with the chances.

Presumably the evidence of all these missed sitters is coming soon?

[wellfan]

Stama’s inability to score from anything other than the spot has nothing to do with our system. He’s had chance after chance under different managers and setups, and he keeps fluffing them for reasons we’ve all gone over already. At this point he’s just an expensive investment who hasn’t delivered what you expect from a number 9.

As for Hendry, I’m starting to think the jury isn’t out anymore and that he might not cut it either. We’re not short of goals right now, but we still need to go out in January and sign a proper striker.