Motherwell vs Havnar Bóltfelag (23/7) Discussion

[Spiderpig]

9 hours ago, purestate said:

 
he might not be starter ahead of Longelo / Williams but nothing I saw gave me the fear. 

Theres a reason he was put out on loan last season as he was not up to the style JBA had us playing, he subsequently could not get any signigicant game time at Raith, hes just not that good, especially at premiership level

[Great Balls of Shire]

9 hours ago, grizzlyg said:

His predictions are just fine, leave him alone.  When wins are predicted we are f***ed 🤣🤣

If he had a track record of getting it right, fair dues, but it's almost always bollocks.

[firparkfred]

I think the criticism of Wilson by some is completely over the top. It was our first competitive game of the season and I thought he did well. He won the ball and pushed forward many times. Unfortunately when he got forward there was no one in the box for him to pass to and he had to check back. Yes, he had a few bad passes but so did quite a few others. I think he is a good addition to the squad and we should be encouraging him.

[grizzlyg]

15 minutes ago, firparkfred said:

I think the criticism of Wilson by some is completely over the top. It was our first competitive game of the season and I thought he did well. He won the ball and pushed forward many times. Unfortunately when he got forward there was no one in the box for him to pass to and he had to check back. Yes, he had a few bad passes but so did quite a few others. I think he is a good addition to the squad and we should be encouraging him.

Exactly,  sadly there always seems to be one player that gets singled out.  Remember the terrible stick SOD was getting a few seasons back.  I think as fans we make an effort to give Ewan plenty encouragement.  The lad is wearing the claret and amber jersey and trying his best and personally I thought he done just fine last night 

[Yabba's Turd]

3 hours ago, Onthefringes said:

Can we say that on here? 

I can, it's my hoose.

[joewarkfanclub]

Pleasantly surprised by that last night.

Controlled the game for the most part. Scored 2 absolutely fantastic goals, and should have got 2 or 3 more. Said coulda had a hat trick if he knew how to shoot!

Obviously there were shortcomings. But given how many players we had unavailable I think overall you have to be happy with the level of performance and direction of travel.

Now if we can just get a few players back fit for next week please!

[Kmcalpin]

Not quite the result I hoped for (3-0), but it was adequate and acceptable given the team we fielded. Hopefully, more injured players are available next week, especially Thor. 

The performance was a mixed bag as you'd expect with the line up and the fact we're early in our season. Pleased to see AJ continue the possession based ethos introduced by JBA. Thats a massive plus and the fans seemed to warm to it. We put far more emphasis on crosses into the box but all too often there was no-one to get on the end of them or if there was, they didn't have the physical attributes to convert them. If we continue with this style, then a big traditional striker is a must (Thor?). We did seem toothless up front. Good to see us shooting more though and that resulted in 2 cracking goals by our Austrian contingent. 

Midfield was a bit iffy at times although Priestman had an outstanding game covering every blade of grass. We did lack a good attacking midfielder though - maybe one to come in?  HB showed unsettling ability to break at pace and that caught us out a few times. The defence held out for a clean sheet but HB, somewhat worryingly, had a good few efforts on goal late in the game as we tired.  Good to see youngsters get game time though and that will boost their confidence. 

Individuals? Too early to make definitive assessments but Paulsen gives me the fear, as did Callum Ward early on to be fair. A great, if showy shotstopper who pulled off 2 very good saves. However at 6-0 he's very small and looked fragile at aerial balls. His distribution was somewhat heartstopping at times and tested his defenders unnecessarily. Impressed with Moormann although Girdwood Reich had a quieter game. We do need a bigger more commanding central defender though as Premiership strikers will test them out physically.  Williams looked ok. Still not sure about Ewan Wilson - he had a poorish first 45 but came onto a better game in the 2nd 45. Not an attacking back but struggled a wee bit defensively.  Probably 3rd choice. I thought Priestman was immense last night and will prove to be a real asset this season. One lad who did impress me was Vogt. After comments on him post the Genk game I wasn't sure what to expect, but he looks a real player with pace to burn.  Definitely one to watch, once he's fit. 

Good to see Mikey Booth get a start but I thought, assist aside, the game passed him by. The gametime will help him though. Luca Ross? A make or break season for him but, on last night's admittedly limited evidence, he showed nothing to impress.  Cameo appearances for Whyte and Weir - a good sign from AJ.  

[mcguru]

A good performance in our first competitive match against unknown opposition. 

Had a great view of that first goal, top bin and Faddy rounded off a man of the match performance with a great strike anaw.

Considering Said of course is not an out and out striker, we've out-Barca'd Barca there. 

I'm looking to win next week up there then looks like we travel to Heksinki who beat Coleraine 5-0.

[joewarkfanclub]

I think the issue with Wilson is a bit of confirmation bias.

I dont think there is any doubt that before his move to Raith his form had dipped a fair bit. He was making mistakes and didnt look very assured.

The fact that JBA didnt rate him enough to keep him around despite being really short in that position only added to the feeling he wasnt good enough.

I dont read too much into the fact he didnt make it at Raith as he was very unlikely to play in front of Lewis Stevenson, which raises questions about the loan in itself.

Judging him purely on last night, I thought he did well enough. Looks fit and physical, was decent enough going forward and if we had a big fit striker, might have had an assist or two. I was concerned when he was moved into centre back, but did fine there as well.

Of course, you have to caveat all of that with the level of opposition, and he may still be moved on eventually. But right now? Id be keeping the boy around.

[joewarkfanclub]

I thought Mikey Booth showed up pretty well last night. Looked like a young player that thought he deserved to be there. Was always dropping into space to show for the ball and was demanding it from more senior players. Some good touches and generally looked like the kind of player that will fit our system.