All Activity

Imagine what the level of support for the team would be like if some had their way and the entire end of the east stand was booted out? There would only be moans, groans and booing left. That section is virtually the only one that backs the players consistently. There's a reason the players and staff tend to end up there when the season ends and we're celebrating anything. I don't see the players congregating at the O'Donnell, that's for sure!

I think people asking for these changes are looking for round pegs in round holes, the manager starts O’Donnell but at CB when obviously people want him to play RB in place of Sparrow. Tawandas replacement wasn’t the problem today, I thought SPH was acceptable. Whatever the problems have been over the last few games, Wully isn’t the answer. Particularly when Said came on and made a difference.

Even if AJ had picked his best 11, whatever might might be, there is no guarantee we would have achieved a better result. Thats a necessary caveat. However, it would have improved our chances of doing so. There were other factors at play. Personnel wise, swap Knight Lebel for SOD. SOD replaces Sparrow at RB. Introduce Maswhanise and Said for Vogt and Hodge.

More importantly, if we bin him any time soon, how easy will it be to find a replacement of JBA's quality? One thing you notice about clubs that have a quick trigger finger when it comes to managers is that it becomes progressively more difficult to convince high-quality candidates to fill the role. Let's say we lose to Killie and the board send him packing, as I've seen a few on here saying could happen (it obviously won't, but let's play along for now). What does the board say to potential new managers when they rightfully ask, "You brought the last guy in and gave him ten games to get up to speed before binning him. He came to Scotland from Europe, uprooted his life and that of his family, tried to implement a way of playing, and he got zero time to really do that. Why would I risk my reputation on that kind of approach and job?" There's a reason why we are now attracting players like Jardell Kanga, Lukas Fadinger, and Elijah Just instead of Conor Wilkinson, Josh Morris & Rolando Aarons. And it's not because they're coming here with the expectations of playing under a manager who played the game for lower-league English teams, or who set up to be "formidable" and hard to beat. It's because of our entire approach, which includes being known as a club that gives managers the time required to show they can either do the job, or they can't. I can't recall the last manager we sacked who could reasonably have said they didn't get time. Our track record there is good. Alfred Johansson might not be the guy for the job. Or he might be. But ten games in is absolutely too early to make that decision. He'll get until after Christmas for sure, then we'll take a look. For me, I'm looking for us to be playing some decent football and in the discussion for top six around that time. If not, then we'll need to look and see what's going on.

I am reading plenty of posts about what the manager got wrong but I have not read any posts saying what he should have done. People have been asking for Maswanhise to be dropped. He was. People were asking for O Donnell to start because we needed leadership on the park. He did. So what is the magic formula that was going to turn that game around today?

Said for me. He didn't change the game when introduced, but he sure gave it a right good go when so many weren't.

I don't see it as 'wanting the manager to fail' but more about how we seem to be going backwards. Our strengths last years stemmed from a back four who could play the ball comfortably with cool heads and a defensive midfield that had the movement and energy to create space for the back four to play out through the press. We should still have the players to do that but we pass sideways, progressing backwards until someone eventually launches it. The more attacking midfielders bunched in with the defensive mids when out of possession to hunt the ball down, often breaking down attacks before they even happened. A lot of what we did last year was pretty simple but just done well. This year, the longer it goes on and the more time we have in training the worse it gets. We were a disorganised mess today, following on from some pretty inept performances against Stenny, Aberdeen and Dundee. I think people are worried (and surprised) about the speed we're going backwards at. If you look like you've got a system and it doesn't work out sometimes, that's one thing, but when you look like no one knows what they're doing, that's a major concern.

Agreed but I don't think that was the point that was being made.

I too was disappointed by the booing at halftime and even more so when Vogt was eventually substituted. As a support we really need to get behind the team and the manager. Vogt isn't going to get any better if the fans apply that kind of pressure, and the manager and other players won't perform to the best of their abilities either if the fans are on their backs. It was another poor performance, with a poor team selection and lack of any of the intensity that AJ frequently mentions, but let's get behind them, and maybe they will turn things around against Killie next week.

Not heard stand up and sing for a while

The club now count season ticket holders whether they attend or not. The stands were emptier today and I don't think there were 10682 actually in the ground. I suspect quite a few season ticket holders gave this home game a miss because a combination of it now being the most toxic game, with the most poisonous atmosphere on our fixture list as well as it being moved to 12pm on a Sunday. So far the home crowds have held up well with an average of 7700 excluding European games, however that will get worse if we don't start getting our act together. My biggest concern this season so far is for the first time in 25 years, ironically, we've actually been able to spend money and so far on whats showing we've got fuck all for nearly £2million spent.

No . Sunday KO 12 noon and playing Celic is what keeps folk away.

So you are saying they have jacked it after 3 poor results, one of which was at Ibrox?

Paulsen looked slow at the first goal even though it should have been defended better, but he kept us in it beyond that and even came close to preventing the second goal. Said introduced a spark, which he doesn’t often when he starts games. None of the midfielders stood out, the defence let us down and the attack offered us nothing. Ewan Wilson was flawless in the warm up before taking his place in the stand.

Quietest I've seen our part of the POD for many a game. Many regulars not there and empty seats.

That is the most inept performance from any Motherwell team. A second rate Celtic team dismantles us. Its not that we lost, normally we do to Celtic, its how clueless we were. The manager had 3 weeks to get his mind sorted and tactics for this game. It was 11 individuals who looked lost about what was expected. His interviews are cringeworthy. How anybody can out a positive spin on that debacle beats me. Players will soon, if they haven't already that this guy is out of his depth. The whole fiasco surrounding Vogts playing should tell you that. It took me two matches to get a handle on Vogts. Yes, two, the first time I couldn't actually believe anyone could be so bad. The second viewing confirmed it. Here is another for you. Kanga is heading in the same direction.

Mine too. Zero leg room. If I can't get seat at end I don't bother as seats so close to each other.

This is a good point. Falkirk are having a very different season to the one they had last year yet the manager is the same. Maybe there are other factors at play? If we were to rely on the knee jerk reactions of football fans the following managers would already have been sacked this season. Derek McIness Stevie Robinson Martin O Neil Jim Goodwin David Gray ( now been sacked) Neil McCann The St Mirren manager is coming under increasing pressure, McGlynn too. AJ also. We could be talking about 3/4 of the league managers being gone already if the fans had their way. It is madness .

3 season tickets remained in the drawer in my house today...noon kick-offs on a Sunday, can get tae fuck

His stats and tactics questionable at last club which had higher budget than ours. Stats informing poor penetration in final 3rd, mostly side passes. Lack of cutting edge. Appears vision and strategy Jens had is blinding management of club to continue season with different players that are not as skilled, trying to adopt that strategy without considering other options. It's not possible to recreate that approach without expertise and quality of coach.

Remember that from the start of last season, we are now counting all season ticket holders. The game in December was far busier. One of the many joys of last season was the stands being busy and the players producing on the park every time Celtic and Rangers came to town. Today was a far cry from that. As wellup83 points out, the rubbish ko time and school holidays will have had an impact but so will the lack of belief in this team.

I know that. I just thought the home stands looked a bit down on numbers to what we've seen recently and a possible explanation why. Nothing to do with fans deserting.

Dundee fans were saying all this same stuff 10 games into Pressleys reign . Its absolutely ludicrous to think of changing manager right now... which will never happen anyway.

The crowd was 10682, same fixture last December was 11435. A drop of 753. Fans are hardly deserting in droves, yet.