GOALKEEPERS
Dan Twardzik – 6
There was a real effort to get Dan in from Dundee in the summer after his successful five-game loan spell the previous season. He started well enough and made a number of crucial stops to keep us in games, and I gave him our player of the season to date at the half way mark. That was a kiss of death as he started to make mistakes on a regular basis and was replaced as soon as Ian Baraclough could get anyone in.
George Long – 5
England Under 21 keeper was brought in by Ian Baraclough in January and put straight into the side to replace Twardzik. Sadly he hasn’t lived up to that reputation. He’s a decent enough shot stopper but looks dreadful on crosses and his poor decision making has cost us at times. Most notably the mad rush off the line which earned Aberdeen their winner in a 2-1 defeat a couple of months back.
DEFENDERS
Fraser Kerr – 5
Fraser, while ostensibly a centre half, has been forced to across the back four and a couple of positions in midfield. This didn’t helped his confidence and he’s long dropped out of the picture.
Stephen McManus – 5
McManus is a strange mix. He has obviously played at a much higher level with Celtic and Scotland and should be a stand out in the Well defence. He has never quite lived up to this billing, often making rash decisions and being caught out of position.
Josh Law – 5
Nicky’s brother looked to be a great signing when he scored two goals in the opening half hour against Iceland’s Stjarnan in the Europa League. Sadly it has been down hill from there, as he struggled to find a position that suited. Eventually Baraclough played him at right back rather than as a midfielder and he’s started to finally win some of the fans over.
Craig Reid – 5
Another who has suffered from being shuffled from position to position: right back, left back, right mid and centre mid holding player. Last season he was a steady Eddie at right back but he’s since been erratic as a result of all the switching. Suffered a season ending injury around the turn of the year.
Simon Ramsden – 4
The experienced Englishman has had a poor campaign caused by injury and suspension (after being sent off twice) thanks to a fixation for a rash tackle.
Mark O’Brien – 4
Irish defender was brought in on loan from Derby to replace the departed Shaun Hutchinson. Sadly his over aggressive style wasn’t to the liking of Scottish referees and he picked up bookings all over the place. This also saw him substituted on a couple of occasions to ensure he wasn’t sent off. Never lived up to the expectation of someone who had played 30 games in the English Championship.
Zaine Francis-Angol – 4
ZFA was forced to fill in for Steven Hammell at left back when the experienced left back was injured. He did okay and looked to be settling in when he too picked up an injury.
David Ferguson – 4
Youngster plucked from the Under 20s by Stuart McCall to play at left back, did okay but always looked uncomfortable out of position during in his four appearances.
Louis Laing – 6
Things didn’t get off to the best start when he was sent off in the opening half hour of his debut. Since then he has impressed alongside McManus at the heart of the defence. Injury has kept him out since the start of the split.
Steven Hammell – 2
Hammy picked up an injury in the Stjarnan tie away back in July and despite a couple of short lived comebacks he has returned only in the last two weeks to play regularly. This was the biggest loss of the season as his ability to get forward and his general consistency were greatly missed. Only reason his score is so low is because he’s played little more than a handful of games.
Anthony Straker – 5
One of the bulk buys in the January transfer window, Straker was brought in to cover for the injured Hammell. The portents weren’t good when fans of his former clubs were quick to let us know that he was one of the worst players ever to pull on their respective club shirts. His opening games saw him live up to the billing, but he settled down and showed some signs of a footballer being in there, but he has been consigned to the bench since the return of Hammell.
Luke Watt – 5
Another youngster brought in to try to solve the left back problem and did well but somehow there was no faith placed on his young shoulders. Many think he would’ve been better than Straker in the run in, but sadly he was out the picture as soon as the Englishman came in and hasn’t featured since.
MIDFIELDERS
Keith Lasley – 6
Throughout the season there has been a theory in the Well support this skipper’s “legs have gone”, which isn’t something I subscribe to. If there has been any impact on his performance this season it is down to him having to carry the whole midfield for almost all of the season. He only really got help when Stephen Pearson came in. It would appear he still has something to offer as both managers have picked him every week when available.
Iain Vigurs – 4
One of the most talented players at the club, Vigurs suffered like many in our poor start to the season. He then picked up a season ending injury in mid-December.
Stuart Carswell – 4
After being one of the key planks of the midfield in the two seasons we finished second, Carswell couldn’t replicate that kind of consistency. This was partly down to carrying a niggling injury which eventually forced him to miss much of the second half of the season. He probably put a final nail in his Motherwell career when he was sent off a matter of minutes after coming on against Partick Thistle.
Jack Leitch – 3
Son of Scott, he looked to be making a central midfield place his own after replacing the inconsistent Carswell. Then in October he picked up a serious knee injury in an Under 20 game. He’s still recovering.
Paul Lawson – 3
As you’ve probably noticed, we’ve hardly had much luck on the injury front this campaign. Well the unluckiest man at the club is Paul Lawson. Every time it looks as though he is going to make his mark on the team he picks up an injury. In one of his many comeback games against Dundee United in the Scottish Cup he had an impressive first 45 minutes then two minutes after the break he broke down again. We haven’t seen him since.
Chris Cadden – 3
Youngster who made a number of sub appearances under McCall before being sent on loan to Albion Rovers to help them lift the League Two title.
Dom Thomas – 5
Became to be seen as the saviour of Motherwell FC due to his exploits for the Under 20s which were recorded by the Motherwell twitter feed. Many had never seen him play but were still clamouring for him to start. He has seen some playing time under Baraclough but, even though he’s shown glimpses of talent, it’s not enough to secure a starting slot.
Stephen Pearson – 6
Had been training with the club most of the season, and after a spell in India he was snapped up on his return in the January transfer window. He gave a new dimension in the midfield being prepared to get in front of the strikers. His momentum was then halted by an injury which kept him out for a month – the story of our season.
Conor Grant – 5
19 year old joined in January on loan from Everton and has shown he has an outstanding football talent but I am not sure if he has the strength to cope with the hurly burly of the SPFL.
Nathan Thomas – 1
Was full of himself on twitter when he joined in January, going on about how excited he was and what he was going to do. Less than 90 minutes of football later he has disappeared, and on the evidence of what we saw that was no surprise as he showed nothing to get us excited.
FORWARDS
John Sutton – 9
Big John has still managed to score 12 goals this season, despite looking a forlorn figure for much of it. He was left to carry the load almost on his own in the first half of the season while in the second half he has mainly been on the bench – though this hasn’t stopped him from netting half of his goals during this time. Always popular with Well fans, we appreciate the fact he always gives it everything in spite of his limitations.
Lionel Ainsworth – 5
Earning a permanent deal after his terrific loan spell clearly went to his head as he didn’t look like the same player in the opening months of the campaign. Even before McCall left he was consigned to the bench to be used as an “impact” player.
Marvin Johnson – 6
The rarest of things – a footballer bought by Motherwell for an actual transfer fee. Ok, it was a nominal one, around £50k, but still! At times he has shown great skill on the wing with the dangerous mix of pace, trickery and a great delivery. One for the future.
Lee Erwin – 7
There have always been high hopes for Erwin at Fir Park since he was 18 and playing regularly for Scotland Under 19s but two season ending injuries halted his progress. He has been given his chance this season and has taken it well and is now the regular starter alongside McDonald. One of the few rays of sunshine.
Bob McHugh – 3
The striker has been about the club for some time and there has always been the hope he would break through but again injury hampered his progress, and he was eventually loaned out to Airdrie.
Scott McDonald – 6
Signed as an out of contract player in February, McDonald made an immediate impact by inspiring the side to an unlikely win over in-form Inverness. Sadly his signing was probably a bit too late to ensure we avoided the play-offs. He is still the moody, mercurial Aussie we knew from his time at Fir Park a decade ago.
DEPARTED
Henrick Ojamaa – 4
The club jumped at the chance to bring the popular Estonian back to the club on loan. Unfortunately he is one of the few returning players who haven’t succeeded, as he was a poor shadow of the player who delighted the crowd in his first spell, and no tears were shed when he decide to leave in January.
MANAGERS
Stuart McCall – 5
His season never seemed to recover from the huge psychological blow that was the defeat to Icelandic Champions Stjarnan in the Europa League. No matter what he tried he couldn’t find the spark that had brought back-to-back second place finishes. This eventually saw him fall on his sword at the start of November with his side in a real relegation scrap.
Ian Baraclough – 5
As always with Motherwell their choice of new manager was a surprise to those on the outside. Baraclough came with the right credentials, a desire to play young players and contacts in the lower leagues of England. He used the latter to bring in seven January signing, which has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He hasn’t really found a formula that would keep us out of the play-offs, although he at least prevented us from automatic relegation which looked likely in January. Will be seen as a success if he wins the play offs, but who knows what might happen if he doesn’t…
WRITTEN BY GRAHAM BARNSTAPLE
To listen to the latest episode click on this link.
If you’d like to contact the podcast the email address is show@terracepodcast.net. Alternatively find us on Facebook or Twitter.
Subscribe to Podcast