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Do We Need a New Manager?


steelboy
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well on the radio today be four the start of st midden and ross .. the panel said they thought they would be watching the bottom and 2nd bottom teams this year then they both score 2 each ,,,,, when will we score 2 ?? and I personally would not bet on that :( :(

 

Two teams we have beaten.

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But but.......we dont mind having a shit season in the league, as long as we have a good cup run......remember???????

 

There's a shit/disappointing season (ie hovering round about 7th/8th/9th and not looking great but still capable of scoring and competing) and then there's administration induced relegation.

 

We are currently hurtling towards the latter.

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There's a shit/disappointing season (ie hovering round about 7th/8th/9th and not looking great but still capable of scoring and competing) and then there's administration induced relegation.

We are currently hurtling towards the latter.

And there in lies the rub, like it or not, we are in the very early stages of (whisper it) those 'R & A' words becoming a reality. Hopefully it won't come to that, however, we are currently showing very little evidence through our results and performances that it won't happen. The question is, how long do you leave a virus before you seek help? Ultimately the treatment might not work, however, at least you can say that you looked for a cure in the early stages before it becomes too late.

 

I would give McCall at least a month to show some signs of improvement (i.e. through results on the park) and to prove that he has the ability to turn around our season. If not, we need to hope that he walks, or by some miracle we can summon up enough cash to compensate him for the time remaining on his contract.

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There's a shit/disappointing season (ie hovering round about 7th/8th/9th and not looking great but still capable of scoring and competing) and then there's administration induced relegation.

 

We are currently hurtling towards the latter.

 

"Administration induced relegation"?

 

I think you made that one up.

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1414331600[/url]' post='423701']

But but.......we dont mind having a shit season in the league, as long as we have a good cup run......remember???????

 

We're already out of the league cup at the first hurdle - again - and I see no reason why we won't do the same in the Scottish Cup so I don't think there's much danger of a Cup run to make up for a shite league season. This squad and manager have proved time and again that they are not able to raise their game when we need to in crucial games such as Cup ties, because to be a good cup team you need to roll up your sleeves and battle for it, wanting to win more than the opposition do but we can't do this. And now, frighteningly we find ourselves in a relegatin dogfight where in order to survive the drop, we're going to have to play every game as if it's a Cup tie but on the evidence so far, we just don't have any fight in us and that's something we're going to need. A bit of direction and tactical awareness from our manager would be helpful too.

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Surely to finish, 3rd, 2nd 2nd you have to roll your sleeves up and battle hard for it?

 

And unlike in a cup run of 5-6 games you do it again, and again and again.

 

We have been brutal in cups under McCall, no one can argue otherwise. To start diatribing with tenuous links about sleeves up as if it only applies to cup effort is a terrible argument

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Well I do see where you are coming from with that. Surely any manager who guides Motherwell FC to 3rd, 2nd and 2nd again must be doing something right? And indeed he obviously has and I hand on heart cannot deny that Stuart McCall has done well for us during his tenure.

 

But if you take a step back and look at the bigger picture here then you cannot fail to see that McCall has also had his fair share, indeed, more than his fair share of good luck during that time.

 

Last season we were poor throughout and won many games that we probably didn't deserve to or barely deserved to win as the football was awful throughout but somehow we eeked out one goal victories by the skin of our teeth on several occasions...think Pittodrie last game of the season, both Thistle games at home, Ross County, Inverness at home when Billy McKay's shot hit the post....And the previous two seasons we had the 'best of the rest' in terms of player quality and while I do not for one minute decry our high league finishes, we have always had the benefit of a settled squad and a generous helping of luck to keep us ticking over during that time.

 

McCall seems to be a manager who places emphasis on a squad which is settled and content for the present time, rather than on tactics and/or discipline and building for the future - his poor performance in the summer transfer windows of 2013 and 2014 and his non youth policy are evidence of this in my view.

 

There was always going to come a time when we werent so fortunate with injuries and struggled at the wrong end of the table and it seems that McCall has no answer to it. Its one thing keeping a settled, injury free squad ticking along but its another thing altogether to have to have them fired up for a battle with their backs to the wall every week. Unfortunately McCall demonstrated, even when we had a good settled side, that he couldn't get them to roll up their sleeves for important Cup ties and now that problem has seeped into our league games.

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There were posters chugging the head off it desperate for a cup run at the expense of a good league placing...i would take 2nd/3rd any day of the week...but anyway..looking forward to visiring Palmerston etc next season

 

I saw many posters, myself included, stating that they'd trade a European placed finish for a mid table or bottom six finish in exchange for a Cup win.

 

I saw no one saying that they'd take relegation/relegation battle - and make no mistake, that's what we are in here - for a Cup run or even a Cup win.

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You might want to try that one again, and remove this little gem......

 

we have always had the benefit of a settled squad.

 

Where you're argument falls down is that this summer, leading on to our current horrendous situation, was probably the most settled the team has been. Losing 3 players Hutch, Annier and Faddy, only 1 of whom was a nailed on starter, was the best summer we have had in years in terms of outgoings.

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You might want to try that one again, and remove this little gem......

 

 

 

Where you're argument falls down is that this summer, leading on to our current horrendous situation, was probably the most settled the team has been. Losing 3 players Hutch, Annier and Faddy, only 1 of whom was a nailed on starter, was the best summer we have had in years in terms of outgoings.

 

Yes but you have to take into account that we have lost key players to injury on a good few occasions this season, leading in us having to chop and change, play players out of position and look out of sorts. Hardly a sign of a settled squad surely?

 

And don't forget that three of the men handed new contracts by McCall in the summer - Lasley, Hammell and McManus - are all a year older and have naturally lost a few yards since last season.

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So just for the avoidance of doubt, is McCall playing players out of position because he's a shite manager/has nae clue like many on here suggest or, are you saying he's forced into doing it because of injuries?

 

I didn't see much evidence of a settled squad when we lost Randolph, Hately, Law, Humphrey, Ojamma and Higdon but then went on to finish 2nd.

 

'Some' of the conclusions you reach on these boards i agree with. All too often the points you put forward to justify your arguments are poorly constructed and shoe horned in to fit the agenda you are peddling.

 

My thoughts are, McCall is not a bad manager but the more this run continues, the more precarious his position. Not because we cant crawl out of it, but eventually we will lose the dressing room.

 

The football last year was not pretty. The first 3months were dire but we got through it with a strong defence and scoring the odd goal on the break. This season the defence makes continual mistakes, and theres no attack to speak of. Look at the last two games. Possesion wise we were at least equal with both Aberdeen and Dundee. We ship 4goals, all mistakes and we are lucky if we create chances on target.

 

What we need to do is cut out the defensive mistakes and drill into the players there can be no passengers. That means no josh law. That means McCall has to look vigours and Ainsworth in the eye before he picks the team to make sure they have got their game faces.

 

I didnt go to the Hamilton drubbing but the Dundee game was not a 'classic pumping'. The players are still good enough to compete, they have just forgotten how to create chances and take them.

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So what is the answer when you have a small squad with injury problems and a few players out of form?

 

These seem like basics to me.

 

  • The correct players signed
  • Unsuitable players moved on
  • Correct fitness plan for squad/individual players
  • The team and players able to play systems

IMO none of the above apply.

 

Add in whatever is happening in the background and this is what you see on match day.

 

How long before leaks of unrest emerging from F.P.?

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So please explain

 

Against Accies, leaving Angol on the pitch until the 80th minute despite having Stevie Hammell sitting on the bench. From the moment he gave away the first goal very early on, ZFA could do nothing right and the groans from the crowd every time the ball went near him must have really helped his confidence. McCall left him out there to rot.

 

Against Aberdeen, leaving Kerr wide right until the 84th minute despite having Lionel Ainsworth sitting on the bench. Kerr cannot beat a man, cannot cross a ball and his first touch is terrible. Yet McCall keeps putting Kerr in that position, at the expense of not only Ainsworth but also Thomas.

 

Against St Johnstone, McCall publically slating Erwin for failing to block a cross after he moved him to left back, having already played him through the centre and wide right.

Against Stjarnan, repeating the same negative tactics in Iceland that failed miserably in the home leg

Against everybody, Josh Law.

Against everybody, a lack of fitness.

None of the above have anything to do with a small squad or injuries. They are all about poor team selection, crazy tactics, favouratism, a lack of empathy for young players and stubbornness. They are all about Stuart McCall and Kenny Black

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lack of empathy for young players and stubbornness.[/size]

 

The single most salient point for a team that is ABSOLUTELY FUCKING ROOKED and pretty much at death's door and getting ready to chap. Constantly told we are a selling club yet we appoint a manager who is reluctant to develop youngsters to sell on. You might say we don't have any youngsters that are ready to step up but I'd say how do we fucking know? If we don't play them, we'll never know.

 

Don't even get me started on loan players. Yes, I realise we've had some good ones but it just stifles our youth.

 

Had tons more to post and rant about but, fuck it, I lost the will to live just thinking about it.

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The single most salient point for a team that is ABSOLUTELY FUCKING ROOKED and pretty much at death's door and getting ready to chap. Constantly told we are a selling club yet we appoint a manager who is reluctant to develop youngsters to sell on. You might say we don't have any youngsters that are ready to step up but I'd say how do we fucking know? If we don't play them, we'll never know.

 

Don't even get me started on loan players. Yes, I realise we've had some good ones but it just stifles our youth.

 

Had tons more to post and rant about but, fuck it, I lost the will to live just thinking about it.

 

Spot on haggis

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In my view, he has got two matches to save his job. The standard of performances are just not good enough. I do however think that he will be stubborn and stick it out until the end of the season when his contract is up. We can't afford to sack him as we don't have two brown pennies to rub together!

 

I really hope he turns it around but I have serious doubts. He just doesnt show the level of desire and looks lost.

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