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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.

SFA 🤝 Clarke

Very interesting, well thought out process Purestate. Any indication though of how successful these 5 “candidates” have been?

He's barely played a competitive game for anyone and there was zero indication England were looking to call him up.

Yeah, I've read that, along with the suggestion it's a ploy to encourage his twin to switch from representing England. Wouldn't surprise me, given the way Clarke bluffed his way to a new 4 year contract before a ball is blootered in America.

I am wondering if its because Fletcher hasnt played a competitive game for us and could get pinched by England. Feel so sorry for Lennon but I don't think its anything to do with his comments a while back

This is cool, some interesting names in there. I used a similar prompt and claude sonnet gave me: Jimmy Thelin, Scott Brown, Russell Martin, John McGlynn and...... Stevie Hammell! Thought about using my opus credits from work to see if it gives me something better, but they're getting touchy about that theesedays. Instead, im going to give mine your list of answers and ask it why it didn't give me those.

That's more detailed than the system a lot of SPFL clubs use. They usually ask 'has anyone got the numbers for any sacked Scottish managers'

Excellent research and analysis: thanks! It seems a long way from Big Yogi's "Honest, hard-working boys".

You see this all the time in work places. Managers at various levels who hide behind a set of principles to favour the people they want only to drop those same principles when somebody they don't want meets the criteria. SC has talked about honouring players who have been in the Scotland set up over the last few years. He has used it to pick Anthony Ralston and Grant Hanley at the expense of somebody like Stephen Welsh. Now suddenly Lennon Miller who has been involved in the Scotland set up for a couple of years gets sidestepped for a player that had impressed in a couple of training sessions this week. I am struggling to get behind this campaign at this moment in time. The USA as a venue is not inspiring me. It seems difficult to get excited about a competition organised by a corrupt organisation in FIFA trying to fleece the fans that support them out of every penny they can. The Scotland team itself represents the SFA, a backwater of an organisation as self servicing as it's big brother FIFA. Steve Clark as a manager seems to encapsulate in body what the SFA represent in spirit. No doubt if Scotland beat Haiti I will immediately be as hypocritical as the next man for suddenly becoming a raging nationalist again and decking my house in Saltires but for the moment I am strangely neutral about the whole thing.

Sorry bit of a long one but with data analytics in mind thought for a bit of interest/ fun I’d try out some prompts to find replacement manager based on JBA style I.e • Asymmetric 4‑2‑2‑2 with short, incisive passing and constant rotations. • Aggressive counter‑pressing, deliberately not contesting first balls but winning second balls. • High regain numbers — among the best in Europe for possession recovery. • Risk‑tolerant, blame‑free coaching culture that encourages bravery on the ball. • Clear game‑model documentation (his “300‑slide football bible”). These are much closer to • Norway’s Bodo/Glimt school • Denmark’s modern Superliga coaches • Sweden’s positional-play managers • Germany’s 2. Bundesliga pressing coaches so potential names which popped up are 🇳🇴 1. Gaute Helstrup (Tromsø → currently free / often linked with progressive clubs) Why he fits: • Uses a fluid, rotation-heavy 4‑3‑3 / 3‑4‑3 hybrid similar to Askou’s asymmetry. • Tromsø were one of Europe’s best small‑budget pressing teams. • Strong Bodo/Glimt influence — exactly the model Askou referenced. sportzeen.com • Excellent at developing undervalued players. Why he’s realistic: • Affordable for a Scottish Premiership club. • Comfortable working with limited budgets and selling clubs. --- 🇩🇰 2. Thomas Nørgaard (Lyngby assistant / former Fremad Amager) Why he fits: • Danish coaches share the same tactical lineage as Askou. • Nørgaard’s Fremad Amager sides played aggressive, vertical, counter‑pressing football. • Known for detailed game‑model work — similar to Askou’s “football bible”. Why he’s realistic: • Danish assistants often step into head roles abroad. • Salary expectations align with Motherwell’s structure. --- 🇸🇪 3. Andreas Brännström (formerly AIK / Mjällby) Why he fits: • One of Sweden’s most tactically flexible coaches. • Uses asymmetric buildup, overloads, and structured pressing. • Excellent at improving players technically. Why he’s realistic: • Available. • Has previously expressed interest in UK opportunities. --- 🇩🇪 4. Daniel Scherning (ex‑Arminia Bielefeld, 2. Bundesliga) Why he fits: • High‑pressing, transition‑dominant football. • Strong emphasis on automatisms and structured rotations. • Good with young squads — important for Motherwell. Why he’s realistic: • German second‑tier coaches often move abroad for stability. • Would see Scotland as a stepping stone. --- 🇳🇱 5. Rogier Meijer (NEC Nijmegen – if available) Why he fits: • Dutch positional play with aggressive pressing triggers. • Very similar to Askou’s short‑passing, rotation‑based buildup. • Strong youth development record. Why he’s realistic: • Dutch coaches are increasingly open to UK moves. • NEC’s budget is modest; not an impossible target.

Like other industries, i suppose it depends on the level the person is operating at. If they are graduates or junior to mid staff they move on seamlessly. If they are senior management/director type level you get into those clauses. Thats my view anyway from non football industry. No idea what and how it happens in football

I'd guess he works for a data analytics company (or partners with one), and that data belongs to them rather than Motherwell. Given their track record, however, all he really needs is a database containing the entry "Copy what Motherwell do"

Interesting one this. From StM announcement by Keith L ”Gavin joins the club with a proven track record of identifying high potential players that have generated significant revenue and has an extensive network across Europe and the UK.” Given the increased focus on data analytics and use of various databases/algorithms I wonder how much each club would already have same targets and how much Motherwell specific details on targets Gavin Miller takes with him. in other commercial environments there would be non-disclosure, non-compete and/or gardening leave situations when someone moves to competition. I know nothing about the realities of football situation. Interested if others do - in general if not this specific case.

Hopefully still available as a catch up. English did not hold back. Not just about the Nicholson decision. Refreshing although it will make no difference to Collum etc. Dallas was the one who got the real going over. English will be on the naughty step alongside Stewart.

It appears those running things at Hampden would question that view, which just proves how wilfully blind and utterly incompetent they are, yet again.

And all that I knew was the hole in my shoe was letting in water 🌧️ 👞

I'm sorry I missed those comments. Tom English has gone up in my estimation.

🤣 Of course, on reflection, Clarke's record in the finals of international tournaments does speak for itself: we are unquestionably dire 😱.

If it was his overenthusiastic comments that are being held against him then Clarke is even more clueless than I thought. I read John McGinn's thoughts about the incident, and he (and the rest of team) thought it was hilarious and followed the time honoured tradition of good humoured taking the Mick out of Miller for that camp. Giving the place to a player who has made 2 senior substitute appearances over the 3 other options that each have over 100 first team appearances says everything about Clarke's favouritism and tactics. Nothing we didn't know already, of course.

My like wasn't 👍

TBC, my like was sarcastic 😈.

It's not for the likes of us to question Steve Clarke when it comes to international football tournaments. The guy's record speaks for itself.