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Incoming! (Lionel Ainsworth signs!)
- Thread starter StevePAFC
- Start date
X Isle":26jrdc75 said:
Agree entirely. I keep saying it, but the difference in status between a post-admin League 2 club (which we were seen as very recently) and a big League 1 force is massive.
You can see it in the McHugh saga and now the Ainsworth move, the idea now that Motherwell is a bigger draw than Plymouth Argyle is ridiculous. Yet that was the case only a few months ago.
That's what excites me about this summer, if DA could attract someone like Carey to that post-admin League 2 club, then who can he get with our much improved current status?
Derek Adams did a good job in turning Carl McHugh into a very competent defender/midfielder and you have reaped the benefit because, for whatever reason, he chose to venture north of the border.Wellman":3ffzbubw said:
If there is a player 'in there', there is a good chance that Adams's training regime will 'find it'. If there is not, Ainsworth will probably be looking again in 12 months time. We are not particularly interested in your thoughts of Adams as a player (mentioned in a subsequent post) as we are judging him on his management skills. He has no time for lazy players so, clearly, he must believe that Ainsworth will meet his standards.
Is there a hint of concern on your part that he will achieve the potential at PAFC that many of your supporters wished that he had in 3/4 years at Motherwell?
He wouldn't be the first player whose career has been re-ignited by Derek Adams. Graham Carey is a good example who you may have heard of and, another 2, who you are probably not familiar with, are Sonny Bradley and David Fox.
Whilst people say that DA wont tolerate a cant be bothered attitude, he will still need to prove himself as his contract will only be twelve months with the chance of earning the extension.
- Jul 28, 2010
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Steve Evans":wgezqe6r said:
Evening, I'm a Motherwell fan who's been lurking around here since we signed McHugh from you last year (thanks btw). Feel free to tell me to GTF but I thought I'd chip in having read Wellman's posts on Ainsworth.
In a sense he's right, though I'd say he's erring on the harsh side. Ainsworth was a pretty divisive player and some folk just couldn't get past the perceived lack of effort. However on his day he's a very good player. Take a look at the highlights from the play-off games against Rangers and you'll see him when he's at his best, have a look at the goal he scored against Kilmarnock on the opening day of last season, or the goal against them in the penultimate game of the season to effectively keep us up and you'll get an idea of what he can do. He's got one of the best showreels of goals that I've ever seen from a Motherwell player.
Play-off:
1st leg: https://youtu.be/-JLuEk5TVZ4
2nd leg: https://youtu.be/CysX7fHSLp8
Killie (opening day): https://youtu.be/ic3Q2nLQvoE?t=50s
Killie (penultimate): https://youtu.be/MjktUrjhj_g?t=4m43s
One thing that should probably be put to bed is the idea that you've signed one of our best players, he only made 10 starts for us in the league last season and in at least one of those he was hooked at half-time. He had a genuine, 100% man of the match performance in a 4-1 win against Ross County and the next week he only lasted an hour in a 2-0 loss to Dundee. That's essentially his Motherwell career in a nutshell. In a technical sense Lionel was as talented as anyone in the squad but you'd expect someone who's considered one of your "best" players to start more games than that. He did however feature off the bench 20 times and that is largely why he's not with us any more.
Here's his appearances record, those starts steadily decrease:
League (Starts + subs) Total appearances (inc cups):
2013-14 - (22+7) - Total apps = 31 (McCall)
2014-15 - (21+15) - Total apps = 39 (McCall/Baraclough)
2015-16 - (17 + 12) - Total apps = 33 (Baraclough/McGhee)
2016-17 - (10 + 20) - Total apps - 35 (McGhee/Robinson)
He was a player who had been dropped for spells under every Motherwell manager he'd played for. McCall kept him on the bench at the start of the 14-15 season, Baraclough opted to play Conor Grant at RM ahead of him and McGhee decided that Chris Cadden was a more consistent & reliable option in that position as well. In McGhee's case there was always an uneasy relationship there especially after this incident at Firhill where he hung Ainsworth out to dry after he lost his man and we conceded in a 1-0 loss. McGhee was miles out of order but it felt like there was always a strained relationship from there on in.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/ ... -1-4020480
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/142 ... admission/
(The incident's here: https://youtu.be/HvLQDcU-x0U?t=4m31s)
In short, it was difficult to see where Ainsworth fitted in the side. Cadden had nailed down the right midfield role ahead of him and any time McGhee tried to fit Ainsworth in to a different role it didn't really work, as an example he was tried as a second striker in the 3-0 loss against Hearts and it didn't work. He was tried as part of a front 3 in a 433 and it was an awkward fit. To be honest it seemed like McGhee became more annoyed that Ainsworth wasn't the player that he wanted him to be rather than the player that he actually is (if that makes sense).
When it comes down to it Ainsworth was a player who had pretty much run his course at Fir Park, it was a natural parting of ways. I'd have liked him to stick around as would many other Motherwell supporters but only on the right terms, and that's the rub. Stephen Robinson all but confirmed in his press conference this week that he was a player who was at the higher end of our wage scale (he signed his 2 year deal after he destroyed Rangers in the play-off and his stock was high). Unfortunately Motherwell aren't the sort of club who can afford to carry a player on that sort of wage but whose squad role is essentially an impact sub. Yes, we'd have liked to have kept him at the club but the offer that was made (and Robinson confirmed this as well) was more in line with a lower basic with incentives, a deal that was more reflective of his role in the squad. Clearly Plymouth were able to offer him a deal that was closer to what he was on or perhaps even improved it, who knows? Either way, I think that despite what was said in the press about him wanting to stay and us wanting to keep him, everyone had generally accepted he'd be moving on. Which was fine.
Apologies for the ramble here but I thought I'd try and give as balanced an appraisal as possible, coming from someone who was a fan of his at Motherwell. Take what you will from the above.
Ultimately Ainsworth gave us some absolutely outstanding performances and I'd say that he moves with most Motherwell fans best wishes. Anyway, I genuinely hope he does you a turn and Adams can get the best out of him.
All the best for next season.
- Oct 31, 2010
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Thanks for the detailed info. I still think Ainsworth will be an impact sub for us for a few months.
Adams has an excellent track record of getting the best out of players and he doesn't suffer fools.
Adams has an excellent track record of getting the best out of players and he doesn't suffer fools.
Deacster":ypr4xe1p said:
No doubt Kennedy had some quality. That Hartlepool strike stands out.
Yet he had numerous poor games where he often wasn't involved. Doncaster away or Blackpool at home were two. Blackpool was very frustrating because of the way he always came inside. Never once ran at Mellor, who must of had one of the easiest games.
Kennedy was a player, who despite some flashes of brilliance just didnt perform in enough games. For some reason he always had to come inside and opposition teams, after a couple of appearances for Argyle, ended up defending him comfortably.
So England scrape a draw against Scotland and apparently there are no Scottish players good enough to play in League One of the EFL. Egg on face time for some people!
Kentishgreen":1u6jo3g3 said:
Ah, but more than half the starting lineup play in England, and of those that play in Scotland only one doesn't play for Celtic.
I would say "there are very few players playing in Scotland (apart from those playing for Celtic) who are good enough to play above EFL League 1" !