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Brilliant. Sums the whole farce up. And highlights the misleading information being pushed out of HQ. Maxwell also stated that no way was VAR being withdrawn. Out of curiosity, is that his call or is it up to the teams in the top division? If they united (this is Scotland so unlikely) could we do a Sweden? Was reading yesterday that after discussing VAR with numerous Clubs, Rangers approached Maxwell with funding and improvement suggestions. Dismissed out of hand. Appears we have a Dictator running his own little empire.

These are great reads and refreshing to see that there are actually other coaches out there that subscribe to what JBA was doing. Wellmade mentioned muscut. Cant have him. The Rangers have wanted him the last two appointments. If he won 3 games in a row with us the tabloids would have him fitted up for a navy suit and broon brogues

Maxwell is a wanker , like Doncaster not fit for purpose . For the benefit of the Scottish game , both need removed asap.

What is this utter nonsense??? Don’t you know Billy Davies, Barry Ferguson and Tony Docherty are available!! just lets all stop with any progressive thinking….. it only brings sorrow. 😉

Great post..based on whats happened with us over past few seasons, id favour a foreign coach....but surely theres a uk coach out there who is looking to make a name for themselves. Maybe not an absolute rule but the Scandanavians just seem more astute and intelligent than our guys. What about Stavri Kettlesborg?

Hibs maybe but doubt Celtic would sell to Hearts. And he enjoys his football too much to fit into the Robinson non football approach. Aberdeen fans are in for a treat.

There's quite a range on the "Who Dares, Wins" scale from the elite SAS to the less elite Del Trotter.

It wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up in Auld Reekie or Furriboots City!

VAR in Scotland is hindered by one key factor - resources. In England they have a minimum of 28 cameras, sometimes more, available to VAR for each game. In Scotland there are a minimum of 6 cameras, sometimes going up to 12, for games selected for live broadcast. In Scotland, the estimated VAR costs are around £1.2M per season. The technology and operational expenses are funded by the 12 top flight clubs on a sliding scale according to their final league position. For a full season the estimated annual contributions from clubs are: - top placed teams £195K - lower ranked clubs £67K These contributions cover the stadium camera equipment, additional match officials and technology calibration. When asked recently about VAR, Ian Maxwell, CEO at the SFA said “There is a narrative that we have VAR-lite and that it’s a cheap VAR system but we have exactly the same VAR system as over 50% of European nations with the same technology and number of cameras.” It would be interesting to know which European nations he’s referring to - perhaps the likes of Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, San Marino, Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands! 😏

We have defintely shown "a who dares wins" attitude this season so SAS might be appropriate 😂

Exactly and just a bit of idle fun in meantime. maybe we should start the Steelmenonline Analytics Service a few successes and we could sell out to big tech for enough money to rebuild stadium 😜

So do I (it has it uses though) but we aren't getting any rumours so why not see what it reckons.. **My company is heavy on AI as well...**

Did we officially advertise for candidates to apply . I may have missed that. If not then we may have it done and dusted already

irrespective of who we eventually turn to, what all this research shows is that there are plenty of decent, progressive options out there. No need to turn to the usual, washed out, living in the past ( resist it Grizzlyg) favourites the Scottish media come up with. Hopefully something announced soon.

I trust anything AI says about as much as anything the Daily Record says.

Love this idea of using AI to see if we can identify who we may look at. Gemini gave me these 3 Losing Jens Berthel Askou to Toulouse is a massive gut punch right after he guided the Well to an incredible 4th-place finish and secured European football. His tactical blueprint—progressive, high-energy, attractive attacking football combined with an excellent track record of developing young talent—is exactly the foundation Chairman Kyrk Macmillan needs to preserve. Given the board’s clear preference to move away from the traditional "Scottish managerial merry-go-round" (as seen with Michael Wimmer and Askou) and scout Europe or further afield, the next appointment needs to be data-literate, tactically modern, and capable of handling European qualification fixtures right away. Here are four strong, realistic continental and international options that fit the exact tactical profile of what Askou built at Fir Park, rated on suitability: ### 1. Óskar Hrafn Thorvaldsson (Iceland) Thorvaldsson is a highly progressive coach who built a reputation for playing some of the most attractive, high-pressing football in Scandinavia during his time with Breidablik, famously taking them into the UEFA Conference League group stages. * **Style of Play:** Ultra-progressive, possession-oriented, and aggressively attack-minded. He favors a fluid 4-3-3 that prioritizes overloading wide areas and high-tempo transitions. * **Youth Development:** Exceptional. Icelandic football relies heavily on blooding academy talent, and Thorvaldsson excels at molding young players into sellable assets. * **Why he fits:** He has proven, recent pedigree in navigating European qualifiers with a modest budget, perfectly matching Motherwell's upcoming campaign. * **Fit Rating:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) — *A tactical soulmate to Askou's approach and deeply accustomed to punching above his weight in Europe.* ### 2. Thomas Letsch (Germany) The former VfL Bochum and Vitesse Arnhem manager is currently available and brings a wealth of high-level European experience. He was a product of the Red Bull Salzburg coaching pipeline, meaning his tactical DNA is deeply rooted in modern football fundamentals. * **Style of Play:** High-octane, intense counter-pressing. He relies on vertical progression, meaning the team looks to get the ball forward sharply and aggressively rather than keeping possession for the sake of it. * **Youth Development:** Strong background. He previously managed Salzburg's feeder club, FC Liefering, which is essentially an elite global academy. * **Why he fits:** He guided Vitesse to a European knockout run and kept Bochum in the Bundesliga against the odds. He represents a slight step up in pedigree that could signal massive ambition from the Well board. * **Fit Rating:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5) — *Slightly more pragmatic in transitional phases than Askou, but brings elite tactical discipline and European pedigree.* ### 3. Per-Mathias Høgmo (Norway) If Motherwell wants an experienced hand who guarantees an incredibly entertaining, high-scoring side, the former Norway national team boss is an intriguing option. He recently managed Urawa Red Diamonds and previously worked wonders with BK Häcken in Sweden. * **Style of Play:** High-scoring, expansive 4-3-3. His Häcken side was famous for outscoring opposition, prioritizing creative freedom in the final third, and playing with incredibly high wing-backs. * **Youth Development:** Solid, though he tends to rely a bit more on established tactical roles. * **Why he fits:** He knows how to build a team that captures the imagination of the fans, ensuring Fir Park crowds (which are up 40%) stay highly entertained. * **Fit Rating:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5) — *Brilliant attacking style, though his higher wage profile and preference for slightly more experienced squads could be a hurdle.* ### 4. Kevin Muscat (Australia) Currently managing Shanghai Port, Muscat has been heavily linked with a return to Western football for a while. As a coach, he has completely shed his former "hardman" player reputation to become one of the most exciting tactical minds from the Ange Postecoglou coaching tree. * **Style of Play:** "Ange-ball" adjacent. Relentless attacking, inverted full-backs, high defensive lines, and a strict emphasis on suffocating the opposition in their own half. * **Youth Development:** Excellent track record in the A-League and J-League at giving young, energetic players the platform to thrive in high-intensity systems. * **Why he fits:** He brings an incredibly sharp, aggressive style that would take Askou's foundations and supercharge them. He also knows the UK landscape well but represents the "wider areas" scouting mission perfectly. * **Fit Rating:** ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3.5/5) — *Tactically perfect, but prising him away from lucrative overseas contracts mid-season would require a massive financial push.* ### Summary Comparison | Manager | Nationality | Preferred Style | European Exp. | Realistic Target? | |---|---|---|---|---| | **Óskar Hrafn Thorvaldsson** | Icelandic | High-tempo, Fluid 4-3-3 | High (Group Stages) | **Very Realistic** | | **Thomas Letsch** | German | Red Bull Pressing, Vertical | High (Eredivisie/UECL) | **Realistic** | | **Per-Mathias Høgmo** | Norwegian | Expansive, Attacking | High (Scandinavia) | **Ambitious** | | **Kevin Muscat** | Australian | Inverted Full-backs, Relentless | Asia Only | **Difficult** | Given how smoothly Jens integrated his Nordic sensibilities into Fir Park, leaning back into the Icelandic or Scandinavian market with a candidate like Thorvaldsson seems like the most logical step to keep the momentum going without ripping up the blueprint. Not saying any of them are affordable right enough..

At least our new manager won’t be Steve Clarke.

I think he missed the ball and the cross bar collided with his head

Yeah am waiting to see it in the tabloids as an exclusive

You do realise "purstate" that all your work will now appear in the tabloids as investigating journalists work. 😉

Great research lads will be interesting to see if any of them are even quoted for the job never mind get it.

That was my initial experience as well because source was gambling odds. I adjusted to exclude odds sites as source and prompted about European second tier countries or leagues. All listed appeared to have spells and sometimes seasons of 60%+ win rates although thanks to fizoxy for further detail as I hadn’t got that far of validating at individual level.

Gavin Miller replaces John Park at St Mirren. Can Keith Lasley not think for himself?

Gaute Helstrup - current assistant at bodo/glimt - so unlikely Thomas Nørgaard - 39% win percentage over 290 games, with it being close to 47% over that last two teams, was the assistant coach at Sparta Prague in between. Seems to be under contract . Andreas Brännström - looks like hes been out of work for a year. About 1.5 points per game average over a lot of teams, all short stints. The only one of the list that looks lile they're available. Daniel Scherning - also looks to be under contract, about 45% win rate at 2 Bundesliga, although thar started high and dropped at each club - could be from moving to a higher level. Rogier Meijer - he recently became Sparta Rotterdam manager, so can be ruled out.

I’m gutted for Lennon and it’s certainly dampened my own enthusiasm for our World Cup campaign. Unless young Fletcher, who I wish all the best, ends up being a sensation then I see no reason why a lad with 17 minutes of senior club football gets in ahead of Miller, Barron, Irving, Watt and possibly others. Specific to Lennon, being the only one to not get a minute of game time against Japan and Ivory Coast didn’t sit right with me. It somewhat pointed towards him not impressing Clarke or indeed the senior players who carry influence, in training. On the back of that rejection in March, I watched a couple of his starts for Udinese. I want him to do so well but I personally found those games a difficult watch. Even accounting for the step up in level, he was on the periphery more than you would expect - not what you want from a central midfielder in a team that tries to play possession based football. This is possibly too deep but I got the impression that the Udinese players were opting not to pass to him on occasion despite being free. That can’t be easy when he’s been used to all his teammates feeding him the ball from age 6-18. Whatever has influenced Clarke’s decision, I think it’s fair to say his first year in Italy hasn’t quite went to plan. Listening to him prior to the Napoli game last week, he continued to come across so balanced and mature. He’s clearly a good kid and a terrific footballer, hopefully this huge disappointment fuels the fire and Clarke is made to look silly a few months from now.