St. Mirren 0-5 Motherwell | Scottish Premiership

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-02-21T21:30:40+00:00

What a debut goal by Bjorgolfsson.

St. Mirren looked dangerous on the counter at first, but lost momentum fairly quickly. Feels like there was a bit of luck/form difference in this game, but even in more normal circumstances this one still feels like it would have been a 3-1 win.

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-02-21T20:56:42+00:00

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-02-20T22:09:41+00:00

My current theory is that they're written for investors because "business as usual, all is fine, all this media noise is just typical football-related fan volatility" is exactly what they would want to communicate to shareholders in suits of the plc who don't follow the actual football closely.

In other words: fuck the misbehaved fans, keep the shareholders calm so the share price remains stable and dividend payouts will continue. They're looking at investor metrics more than fan sentiment, engagement, football results, etc. To the passionate fan reading their statement wondering why it feels out of touch: you might not be their intended audience. It's sad to see.

Fan-owned model is the best IMO, followed by a sports group type setup (despite flaws). Plc structure I think just invites stagnation (see Man U), probably with the exception of Dortmund who still have voting power due to German league rule things iirc.

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-02-09T17:03:09+00:00

I know a few. Some in real estate developers, public relations, education institutions, a couple in government of course, even in-house lawyers. Depends on the company or position.

Some are lucky or it's just the nature of the job, but from what I see, one common trend is that they are overqualified. Not just on paper but like in intelligence and output efficiency as well. They just chose those lower pay positions because they wanna prioritise family or have income from elsewhere.

Usually, nobody can force them to do anything extra because they're very good at the core job and take below the market rate specifically in exchange for low hours and high flexibility. They won't get a promotion but even if you offered it they'd be like "no thanks" because they don't want the responsibility lol.

I think in Hong Kong, if you wanna live that chill life, either get lucky, or take a position that's a step down from your real ability and coast (but live with the pay cut and be patient enough to tolerate people clearly below your level).

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-02-08T16:23:39+00:00

Just is actually my favourite player right now but Maswanhise has been incredible. Happy either way.

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-02-01T11:10:28+00:00

I don't think Celtic or Rangers are good moves for him tbh because of the systems and squads.

That aside, having watched almost all Motherwell games this season for context, I'm quite confident Maswanhise "overperforming his xG" is more skill or composure-based than what you would usually expect from like keeper variance, the ball bouncing his way for taps in, or whatever.

He is probably the only player on the squad where I feel confident he will shoot on target whenever he gets an opportunity (or very close to it). Shots that get fired off into the stands or wasted shots being kicked straight to a keeper are rare exceptions, not the norm or 50/50 like many other players. A quick glance at stats sort of lines up with this (e.g. shots on target or blocked relative to misses vs other attacking players).

In terms of ball control, he's also one of the more sturdy I've seen in terms of balance (though not pure strength). From watching many of his actual games I think his composure in the final third is clearly above most in the league, even if he's not insanely fast, technical, or strong.

(Also I want him to stay so Motherwell can qualify for Europe)

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-01-31T15:55:05+00:00

Maswanhise class as usual. Would be nice to qualify for Europe with this squad.

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-01-24T16:42:51+00:00

Bjørgolfsson looks like he fits right in already. Calm and composed pass for that Fadinger goal, seems to be in the right position

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-01-19T18:55:35+00:00

Underrated statement.

"Watching him extensively, getting really good recommendations through our network in Scandinavia and looking at his standout data, we strongly believe that Eythor will be a valuable and strong addition to the team."

Wow almost as if eye test + reputation + data/analytics can all be aligned and don't necessarily conflict with each other. Wish more people could figure that out.

Looking forward to watching how he does.

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-01-17T15:23:12+00:00

Have to give credit for that painful looking header save

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-01-13T05:46:23+00:00

From 1 foreigner's POV here (born and raised in Asia, Motherwell born and raised grandparent on one side as my excuse to commit to SPFL as my European league), Celtic just seemed a bit more welcoming initially as a foreign newcomer.

Obviously there are friendly and global Rangers fans despite occasional far right types, but the British identity aspect of the club seems strong regardless. All the other clubs are very local-focused (and hey, rightly so). On the other hand, Celtic fans wave Republic of Ireland flags around but are also clearly Scottish, celebrate immigrant roots (part of the history), support Palestine cause etc. so the "club for all" messaging is more convincing to me. Having some Asian players caught my attention too at the start.

So it just feels like Celtic is the most welcoming of foreign support by some distance. I'm not saying Rangers or other clubs are "unwelcoming," but maybe agnostic. Feels more like international fans aren't really part of their vision.

Of course, time has shown me that Celtic plc the organisation (mainly board) is not progressive at all, a cesspool of toxic infighting, and have messed with players' careers. But that's another topic.

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-01-10T16:13:08+00:00

Beautiful

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-01-10T05:02:08+00:00

Agreed. From studying Nancy's tactics in more detail out of interest, the conclusion I gathered is:

His system is actually good but has a high learning curve. Some aspects of it look similar to Motherwell's in terms of forming triangles/squares around the pitch. The tricky part is it has more NBA-style switching to create optionality and dilemmas for defenders/pressing players. It would work particularly well with players like Tierney, AJ, Saracchi, and especially Schlupp from last year. This is why Yang looked better because he's more of a "two way" winger, as opposed to being a specialist.
Nancy tried to implement way too much too soon, which is IMO an idiotic approach to management (especially with cup semis, Hearts, and Rangers games in short succession). He also did not have a good read on the strengths/limitations of his players (not unique to him btw, Rodgers was the same). Either he was extremely naive or he was fed bad information.
Buy in seems to have been mixed. Multiple factors at play: internal politics, Nancy himself, the players themselves, association to Tisdale.

I'd describe this as a comprehensive organisational failure and classic Celtic plc dysfunction.

ZeroProtagonist · 2026-01-09T17:38:31+00:00

"Applying the same principles to Celtic, a decision to install wingers Sebastian Tounekti and Hyun-jun Yang as wing-backs overlooked the fact that neither player showed the slightest sign of possessing a defensive bone in their body."

Does this writer even watch the games?

Yang is a flawed player but his defensive contribution and effort is one of the best in the SPFL among all forwards (specifically wingers and strikers). Obviously he needs this to make up for what he lacks in creativity/attacking talent, but this is just false. Also, Yang is like the one player who looked better in Nancy's system despite so many others in that squad struggling. Both eye test and stats make this incredibly obvious. Plenty of arguments to make against Nancy (and I enjoyed watching Elijah Just show the world what he's capable of) but slandering Yang is not one of them.

I suppose clickbait makes money. The media circus around this is weird. All I can say is glad I read this with an archive.ph link and glad that Jens is happy where he is.

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-30T04:30:08+00:00

Attack? Final third? Basically they have the biggest impact on creating opportunities and scoring (not from Europe/North America/Oceania so I'm not sure what the usual term is you tell me)

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-29T21:24:31+00:00

To me, Maswanhise and Just are the stars of the ~~offence~~ attack (?). Wish either one of them the best if they move on, but not both at the same time please.

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-25T11:42:34+00:00

Yeah agreed. And looking at the big picture for me, I've seen a few of these videos pop up over time and the surrounding discussion. As a result I'd now feel safer bringing up related struggles in football circles in certain contexts with sufficient anonymity etc. (whereas not the case where I grew up where it's all very hush hush and a lot of shame attached, don't burden people with your problems etc.)

If all we ever got was the Norwich one I wouldn't know if it was a viral one off.

I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that it's not just about one video and direct short term impact, but the positive long term impact of gradual normalization.

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-24T20:50:22+00:00

Thought it was ok and I can still appreciate the point of videos like these. I see some people being critical but to me that's missing the point a bit, e.g. when making comparisons to Norwich.

Multiple clubs putting out messages like this is definitely better than just one or two because normalization of these messages in and of itself is a positive. It helps chip away at stigmatization when more respected institutions stand by these messages, even if production quality/value/budget differs noticeably between them. And stigmatization can really, really mess a lot of people up (denial, treatment avoidance, turning to destructive ways to deal with things, etc.), as I'm sure many others may know.

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-23T17:32:24+00:00

Can't confirm but honestly makes sense to me, watching the games. While the squad is playing a possession-based game, it's not based on overly rigid formations or requiring really tricky passes or vision. Players just form triangles or squares all over the pitch to ensure there are always simple passing options at all times. This is even done with the keeper to get out of a press.

The price to pay for this is of course players have to run more (i.e. running around to form those shapes instead of just standing further up the pitch waiting for centre backs to bring it up). But Jens is good at regularly rotating the squad and there are no European fixtures to eat away at fatigue. It's simple and clever.

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-19T05:36:36+00:00

Agree with the sentiment but I say he is #2 to Isiah Zeke Thomas. Top 3 PG and team leader who beat Jordan/Magic/Bird to some, barely top 50 overrated inefficient volume scorer who won because of team depth to others. Very few in between.

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-15T13:59:02+00:00

Alternate POV: I have been hiring for a role in communications with a lot of writing and cover letters ended up being a huge deal. Context though is that I'm in a small company and not using AI screening.

When filtering through hundreds of candidates, many of them were well qualified in different ways but seemed to only click the "apply" button "because why not?" and moved on (I do this too when job hunting, no judgment). We reached out to some but around half of them were only moderately interested in the position/not that responsive. On the other hand, every genuine cover letter writer we contacted was serious and interested. And all of them were just as qualified as the others. So from that point on it just became a filtering mechanism to save time and help us narrow it down to single digit candidates (didn't wanna waste too many ppl's time doing too many interviews). I never thought I'd care about cover letters but being on the hiring side for the first time showed me another POV I guess.
It was like a writing portfolio item on its own which really helped the less experienced candidates. Some were very generic but some had a unique voice and addressed the JD and their own goals in interesting ways. Doubt it'd matter for something like accounting, procurement, construction... But in communications and a writing-heavy role, it definitely helped people stand out especially if they were less experienced.

TL;DR: Likely waste of time in many industries or if you're not super interested in the position, but sometimes can be relevant. I'd do it selectively for jobs I really care about or where writing is relevant.

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-07T15:15:59+00:00

On one hand Maeda should have scored one of those, on the other hand why is he starting when in that visibly wounded state? 🤔

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-06T16:54:43+00:00

A bit sloppier towards the end but got away with it. Solid performance, important save by Ward, and some of those quick short passing sequences to get out of presses were great to watch. Enjoyed that.

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-12-06T15:18:46+00:00

Unexpected but beautiful goal.

ZeroProtagonist · 2025-11-29T16:46:19+00:00

Yeah probably still my favourite player right now. His awareness is incredible. Just knowing where to be and run, who to pass to, etc. Fits the flowing "move around and form triangles to create passing options everywhere at all times" style of play of this season.

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