2025/26 Ins & Outs Discussion

[thewelllfan]

1 hour ago, mio said:

Not ideal but Halliday can cover as left back when he’s fit. He played left back under Gerrard at Rangers …. For most of that season I think? and he also was left back when he played down south at Middlesbrough and Bradford. 

ok his legs are a bit gone but he knows the system and he is a good passer of the ball. He could do a Stevie Hammell job in an emergency 

I think that probably is the next best solution it also keeps a balance to the shape that a right footer there doesn't give us I feel when JK is there we literally have no width on that side and everything goes back central.

[joewarkfanclub]

Johnny K in full training yesterday from pics shown, so any knock he had was obviously a minor one.

Good news going into an important 7 days of football.

[texanwellfan]

Yes. 3 very big games for us. 

[Orinoco]

We have a strong squad which still gives opportunities to our youngsters. This is what we all wanted compared to previous bloated squads.

[joewarkfanclub]

2 hours ago, Orinoco said:

We have a strong squad which still gives opportunities to our youngsters. This is what we all wanted compared to previous bloated squads.

None of our youngsters play left back though.....

[Orinoco]

Aarron Thompson plays left back i think. Seems highly rated and is regularly in Scotland u17s. He has alsi been on the bench. 

[grizzlyg]

14 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

Aarron Thompson plays left back i think. Seems highly rated and is regularly in Scotland u17s. He has alsi been on the bench. 

You having a laugh?  No way?.  Whoops.......sorry......thought you said Dom Thompson 🤣🤣

[Orinoco]

I think even Jens would struggle to get a performance out of Dom.

[Ya Bezzer!]

On 1/26/2026 at 6:25 PM, wellfan said:

It’s wild how we’ve gone from an incompetent balloon like Kettlewell to a genuinely talented manager in JBA in such a short space of time.

Kettlewell made millions of pounds for the club by developing Lennon Miller and Theo Bair.

He also signed our most important player in Maswanhise  who will also make us millions, and has basically been the goalscorer that's enabled JBA to be as successful as he has been.

So essentially JBA's time at our club will be bankrolled by Kettlewell's 'incompetence' as you put it.

 

[thewelllfan]

Kettlewell wasn't a bad manager for us. When he first came in he did what everyone was screaming for Hammell to do and played a 352 which ultimately kept us in the league. Second season he developed Theo Bair into a 15 goal a season ST to replace KVV who he sold for 500K . Developed Lennon Miller and had Blair Spittal performing to a very high standard. We finished 8th but weren't in any real danger. Season 3 he sold Theo Bair for 1.5m brought in Maswanhise got us to a cup semi final and had us in the top 6 although we were probably about to drop out it when he resigned. His main issues were he tried to turn Lennon Miller into a 10 for god knows what reason, had no idea what to do with Maswanhise he could tell he was talented but had no idea how to use him in his 541. His main flaw he insisted on using a 541 with absolutely no pace in the side which allowed teams to dominate the game and continued that at Killie who I actually think had they not sacked him when they did would be a couple points better off.

He got us 6M odd in transfer fees over his spell (I've added the Miller money in as he platformed him and gave him his chance in the team) I didn't enjoy his football but he was a decent enough Motherwell manager and saved the club from relegation when it looked likely. JBA is a far better coach than SK ever will be but that doesn't mean he was awful. The last Motherwell manager I properly disliked was Graham Alexander because it was an absolutely chronic watch. Getting knocked out the Confrence league of Sligo Rovers who had been beaten of our u21s a year or 2 prior was probably reason enough for that alone.

[joewarkfanclub]

Kettlewells stubborn attachment to a system that he himself proclaimed he had "never played before" was his downfall.

Even if he had wanted to continue with the 5-4-1, he should have signed players to allow him to do that.

Or at the very least, when he realised his signings couldnt play 5-4-1, he should have changed it.

He gets some kudos for his first 18 months, but the way it unravelled so quickly was entirely on him.

Remember he also signed Johnny K and then refused to play him when we were struggling for a right back!

I dont normally turn on Motherwell managers and am usually the last shouting for their heads, but the way he manufactured his exit will always be a sore point for me, so any of the good stuff that went before, for me, is tarnished.

[wellfan]

11 hours ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

Kettlewell made millions of pounds for the club by developing Lennon Miller and Theo Bair.

He also signed our most important player in Maswanhise  who will also make us millions, and has basically been the goalscorer that's enabled JBA to be as successful as he has been.

So essentially JBA's time at our club will be bankrolled by Kettlewell's 'incompetence' as you put it.

Developing and signing players isn’t done in isolation, and it doesn’t wipe out what we were watching every week or how it unravelled. Player development is part of the job, not some bonus achievement, and it’s not a one-man show either. Yes, there were a couple of good assets, and he got a tune out of Bair and gave Miller a platform to develop.

But there was also a pile of shite signings, an appalling winless run, poor football, and a messy exit where he blamed the fans. Suggesting he somehow solely bankrolled JBA is a ridiculous take, ignoring all the wider context.

His time as Motherwell manager was, overall, a complete failure. His exit, and what followed at Killie, only confirmed that, and it will likely be the same elsewhere unless he actually changes, which he has shown no sign of doing throughout his managerial career so far.

He’s an incompetent clown who believes his own hype. But even they get lucky every now and then.

[Kmcalpin]

We've given Nick Daws some brickbats in the past, so its only right that he and his team earn some credit here too.  Recruitment successes weren't all down to SK. 

[joewarkfanclub]

31 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

We've given Nick Daws some brickbats in the past, so its only right that he and his team earn some credit here too.  Recruitment successes weren't all down to SK. 

I think what maybe has become apparent is that, a Head of Recruitment is only as good as the brief he is given.

If the manager requests a particular type of player, and a board puts significant financial or other contraints on the identification process, then you are likely to get predictibly poor results......

[wellfan]

26 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

We've given Nick Daws some brickbats in the past, so its only right that he and his team earn some credit here too.  Recruitment successes weren't all down to SK. 

I've given Daws a hard time previously, but over the piece, he’s probably earned some credit. Given the numbers and types recruited under JBA, it’s starting to look like he was left carrying the can for some of Kettlewell’s scattergun recruitment.

[grizzlyg]

I mentioned a few weeks back about Daws,  got loads of pelters shen things going bad but hasnt been mentioned during this season and done of the great signings. 

As for SK, I said plenty times.  He done a lot of good but the way he engineered his move from the club and way he threw support under bus was shocking ( plus YouTube interview day wimmer was appointed was total lack of class)

We now have an absolute brilliant manager who i am enjoying while we have him

[MelvinBragg]

Fairly or unfairly, the manager is going to get the credit/blame for signings from Scandinavian football. So Daws is not likely to get credit for Said or Just. Fadinger, Wimmer will probably get credit for.

But identifying and convincing the likes of Sparrow, Longelo and Priestman is to be commended. I'll admit that given the Danzaki experience and Stamatelopolous not setting the scoring charts on fire, I was sceptical of signing Priestman but he's been excellent (and Koutroumbis has been mostly solid). Number of players we were signing from the A League was making me think Daws had a house in Australia. But Priestman looks a find..

Generally positive just now about Daws and our recruitment. In his defence, previous failures we don't know if these players were our first choice targets (bear in mind how many keepers we had to sign last season?). So if we're signing maybe the third or fourth name striker on our wishlist, maybe the success rate will take a hit. Maybe having a manager with a strong personality and clear plan has convinced more of our first choice targets this season...?

[thewelllfan]

4 hours ago, wellfan said:

Developing and signing players isn’t done in isolation, and it doesn’t wipe out what we were watching every week or how it unravelled. Player development is part of the job, not some bonus achievement, and it’s not a one-man show either. Yes, there were a couple of good assets, and he got a tune of Bair and gave Miller a platform to develop.

But there was also a pile of shite signings, an appalling winless run, poor football, and a messy exit where he blamed the fans. Suggesting he somehow solely bankrolled JBA is a ridiculous take, ignoring all the wider context.

That is also true but I think if you look at his overall tenure as Motherwell manager he was probably a success. His recruitment however wasn't great. 

Players brought in under Kettlewell

22/23

Harry Paton - Was a decent enough player for us served a purpose, Decent signing.

23/24 Summer Window

Johnathan Obika - Injured constantly barley played poor signing.

Connor Wilkinson - Poor Striker can't remember if we mutualled him or sold him in January but another poor signing.

Pape Souare - another guy who barley played another poor signing.

Davor Zdravkovski - Was decent in his first season barley played in his second decent enough signing

Theo Bair - Signing got a lot of negative reaction but proved us wrong. Ended up being sold for 1.5M and turned out a great signing.

Mika Beireth - What a player we only had him 6 months but he was a fantasatic footballer and great signing.

Brodie Spencer - Another really good loan signing could play both sides and was a really solid player for us. Decent signing.

Oli Shaw - Probably the most frustrating St we have had at Motherwell in recent years his movement was really good but could not finish at all, poor signing.

Georgie Gent - Another decent loan signing didn't really play first half of the season but when he got in the team was a really solid player and had excellent delivery from that left side, decent signing

January 23/24

Adam Montgommery - Looked decent enough in the 2 games he played but got injured and returned to Celtic before the window closed so I guess it was a poor signing but more due to circumstance.

Andy Halliday - Been a really solid player over his time at Motherwell so was a good signing despite his lack of minutes this season.

Callan Elliot - Don't think he ever played for us so was a complete waste of money and a poor signing.

Sam Nicholson - Really talented player but considering he's been at the club since Jan 24 and made 9 appearances to date has to go down as a poor signing.

Jack Vale Loan V1 - Decent signing had a postitive contribution second half of that season.

Jill Buyabu - Turned up played 1 game fell out with the manager was sent back to Sheff Utd, Poor signing.

Adam Devine - Was really average to be honest got caught ball watching to put Airdrie out the cup last night and never really impressed for us, poor signing.

Moses Ebiye - Absolute Chaos caused when he was on the pitch but it never really clicked for him was probably worth the punt for his physical attributes alone tho.

Summer 24/25

Zach Robinson - Signed on the back of a decent loan spell at Dundee, was a decent ST for us without really standing out did score the winner against Dundee Utd to get us in to the cup semi final but has been out for a signinificant period of time. Poor signing.

Johnny Koutrombis - Wasn't used at all by Kettlewell but has been very good for us under JBA. Decent signing.

Kofi Balmer - Had a giant throw in and other than that was quite poor. Poor signing.

Tom Sparrow - Thought he was a weird signing at the time but was 1 of our best players last season. Good signing.

Fillip Stuperavic - Scored in the league cup group stages fell out with the manager was playing well on loan at Morton but done his ACL. Poor Signing.

Ross Callahan - Played about 2 games was perma crocked massive waste of money. Poor signing.

Liam Gordon - Been a very solid pro since signing and seems a proper leader when he plays. Decent Signing.

Kyristian Hegyi - Think most thought he'd start the season as N1 don't think he made a competitive appearance after the League Cup group stages, Poor Signing.

Steve Seddon - I liked him thought he was decent whenever he played but had some troubles with injury. Decent Signing.

Marvin Kaleta - Started really well then his form fell of a cliff could probably pass as a decent loan signing.

Apostolous Stamatelopolous - The fact we paid a significant fee probably counts against him scored basically 1 in 3 in his games last season but has been poor this season and struggled with injury. Poor signing.

Tony Watt - Was decent enough for us had some really good games for us but wasn't in the same form he was during Alexander's reign. Decent Signing.

Twanda Maswanhise - What a player he's turned out to be for us. Great signing.

Jair Taveres - Wasn't very good was he, Poor signing.

Jack Vale V2 - This time he was just crocked the whole time and we really didn't need another St. Poor signing.

Jan 24/25

Kai Andrews - Thought he was decent under Wimmer and was a decent loan signing.

Archie Mair - Played 1 game broke his hand returned to Norwich. Poor signing.

Ellery Balcombe - Another poor goalkeeper who probably cost us top 6 last season. Poor signing.

Luke Armstrong - Had a couple of decent games and was something different to our other attackers. Decent signing.

Dom Thompson - Came with some decent perdigree having been at Arsenal U21 but wasn;y very good for us. Poor signing

Based on that SK made 38 signings during his time as manager :

3 were very good - Biereth, Maswanhise, Bair.

2 were good - Sparrow, Halliday.

12 were decent - Paton, Davor, Spencer, Gent, Vale V1, Koutrombis, Gordon, Seddon, Kaleta, Watt, Andrews, Armstrong

21 were poor - Obika, Wilkinson, Souare, Shaw, Montgommery, Elliot, Nicholson, Buyabu, Devine, Ebiye, Robinson, Balmer, Stuperavic, Callahan, Hegyi, Stama, Taveres, Vale V2, Mair, Balcombe, Thompson

I'd say overall it was below average. The majority of his first choice Xi were already at the club and he signed a lot of poor players. Doing this also made me remember just how much shite he signed for us, he's done the same at Killie tbf I'd only really want John-Jules and Kiltie at Motherwell of the guys he signed in the summer.

 

 

[Fergie79]

On 2/7/2026 at 3:52 PM, thewelllfan said:

That is also true but I think if you look at his overall tenure as Motherwell manager he was probably a success. His recruitment however wasn't great. 

Players brought in under Kettlewell

22/23

Harry Paton - Was a decent enough player for us served a purpose, Decent signing.

23/24 Summer Window

Johnathan Obika - Injured constantly barley played poor signing.

Connor Wilkinson - Poor Striker can't remember if we mutualled him or sold him in January but another poor signing.

Pape Souare - another guy who barley played another poor signing.

Davor Zdravkovski - Was decent in his first season barley played in his second decent enough signing

Theo Bair - Signing got a lot of negative reaction but proved us wrong. Ended up being sold for 1.5M and turned out a great signing.

Mika Beireth - What a player we only had him 6 months but he was a fantasatic footballer and great signing.

Brodie Spencer - Another really good loan signing could play both sides and was a really solid player for us. Decent signing.

Oli Shaw - Probably the most frustrating St we have had at Motherwell in recent years his movement was really good but could not finish at all, poor signing.

Georgie Gent - Another decent loan signing didn't really play first half of the season but when he got in the team was a really solid player and had excellent delivery from that left side, decent signing

January 23/24

Adam Montgommery - Looked decent enough in the 2 games he played but got injured and returned to Celtic before the window closed so I guess it was a poor signing but more due to circumstance.

Andy Halliday - Been a really solid player over his time at Motherwell so was a good signing despite his lack of minutes this season.

Callan Elliot - Don't think he ever played for us so was a complete waste of money and a poor signing.

Sam Nicholson - Really talented player but considering he's been at the club since Jan 24 and made 9 appearances to date has to go down as a poor signing.

Jack Vale Loan V1 - Decent signing had a postitive contribution second half of that season.

Jill Buyabu - Turned up played 1 game fell out with the manager was sent back to Sheff Utd, Poor signing.

Adam Devine - Was really average to be honest got caught ball watching to put Airdrie out the cup last night and never really impressed for us, poor signing.

Moses Ebiye - Absolute Chaos caused when he was on the pitch but it never really clicked for him was probably worth the punt for his physical attributes alone tho.

Summer 24/25

Zach Robinson - Signed on the back of a decent loan spell at Dundee, was a decent ST for us without really standing out did score the winner against Dundee Utd to get us in to the cup semi final but has been out for a signinificant period of time. Poor signing.

Johnny Koutrombis - Wasn't used at all by Kettlewell but has been very good for us under JBA. Decent signing.

Kofi Balmer - Had a giant throw in and other than that was quite poor. Poor signing.

Tom Sparrow - Thought he was a weird signing at the time but was 1 of our best players last season. Good signing.

Fillip Stuperavic - Scored in the league cup group stages fell out with the manager was playing well on loan at Morton but done his ACL. Poor Signing.

Ross Callahan - Played about 2 games was perma crocked massive waste of money. Poor signing.

Liam Gordon - Been a very solid pro since signing and seems a proper leader when he plays. Decent Signing.

Kyristian Hegyi - Think most thought he'd start the season as N1 don't think he made a competitive appearance after the League Cup group stages, Poor Signing.

Steve Seddon - I liked him thought he was decent whenever he played but had some troubles with injury. Decent Signing.

Marvin Kaleta - Started really well then his form fell of a cliff could probably pass as a decent loan signing.

Apostolous Stamatelopolous - The fact we paid a significant fee probably counts against him scored basically 1 in 3 in his games last season but has been poor this season and struggled with injury. Poor signing.

Tony Watt - Was decent enough for us had some really good games for us but wasn't in the same form he was during Alexander's reign. Decent Signing.

Twanda Maswanhise - What a player he's turned out to be for us. Great signing.

Jair Taveres - Wasn't very good was he, Poor signing.

Jack Vale V2 - This time he was just crocked the whole time and we really didn't need another St. Poor signing.

Jan 24/25

Kai Andrews - Thought he was decent under Wimmer and was a decent loan signing.

Archie Mair - Played 1 game broke his hand returned to Norwich. Poor signing.

Ellery Balcombe - Another poor goalkeeper who probably cost us top 6 last season. Poor signing.

Luke Armstrong - Had a couple of decent games and was something different to our other attackers. Decent signing.

Dom Thompson - Came with some decent perdigree having been at Arsenal U21 but wasn;y very good for us. Poor signing

Based on that SK made 38 signings during his time as manager :

3 were very good - Biereth, Maswanhise, Bair.

2 were good - Sparrow, Halliday.

12 were decent - Paton, Davor, Spencer, Gent, Vale V1, Koutrombis, Gordon, Seddon, Kaleta, Watt, Andrews, Armstrong

21 were poor - Obika, Wilkinson, Souare, Shaw, Montgommery, Elliot, Nicholson, Buyabu, Devine, Ebiye, Robinson, Balmer, Stuperavic, Callahan, Hegyi, Stama, Taveres, Vale V2, Mair, Balcombe, Thompson

I'd say overall it was below average. The majority of his first choice Xi were already at the club and he signed a lot of poor players. Doing this also made me remember just how much shite he signed for us, he's done the same at Killie tbf I'd only really want John-Jules and Kiltie at Motherwell of the guys he signed in the summer.

 

 

Did he sign Ward too? He's turned out at the least a good signing

[thewelllfan]

No he was signed a week after Kettlewell had resigned as cover for Balcombe.

56 minutes ago, Fergie79 said:

Did he sign Ward too? He's turned out at the least a good signing

 

[bobbybingo]

Stamatelopoulos has gone to Sydney FC on loan for the rest of the season.

[joewarkfanclub]

9 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Stamatelopoulos has gone to Sydney FC on loan for the rest of the season.

I see they have an option to buy.

Hopefully he does well and makes their World Cup squad and we can get some of our money back.

 

 

[grizzlyg]

48 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Stamatelopoulos has gone to Sydney FC on loan for the rest of the season.

I hope it works out for him.  Always hoped he would come good but I just think way we play doesn't suit him

[well_said]

57 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said:

I see they have an option to buy.

Hopefully he does well and makes their World Cup squad and we can get some of our money back.

 

 

Australia would have to be really poor for him to get in the squad.

[grizzlyg]

hope we don't get more injuries as would leave us short.  I think RCC close to returning so that will help even though I have not been overly impressed.