Leaderboard

Aye and neither is playing in the lower leagues which at least six of those clubs have also done in the last decade. Which yer man helped save us from once, ensured it was never an issue by about February last season and will most likely ensure it isn't an issue this season either. You know seeing as we're disregarding Cups whenever it suits the argument.

Finished 1-3 but might well have been 4, 5, 6. Carson has made a couple of smart saves and Tait cleared a certain goal off the line. In the end we were well beaten by probably the best team I've seen this season and that fact is what I'm taking away from this match. I keep seeing wee team mentality all over this board, that we can't expect much from a club our size and that the city teams are unchallengeable. Why then are our closest cousins, in terms of size of club, history, support, so far ahead of us? Kilmarnock have beaten Celtic and Aberdeen and are as good as any team in the country. At Motherwell we've let our standards fall drastically. That's a problem that is pre-Robinson but it's only been compounded during Robinson term in charge with atrocious outdated tactics, embarrassing style of football and the complete neglect of our youth system. Things have to change. Kilmarnock showed us today what could be.

That's the thing for me and i think many others - how the budget is being spent. No one is suggesting compromise the budget. Our squad wasn't exactly thin at the end of last season ( at least compared to recent years, e.g. under McCall). So spending the same amount in total on 3 or 4 quality starters, instead of 7 or 8 bench warmers is surely how you build on last season's success. Selling our best defender and signing a bench worth of players isn't the way forward IMO.

"Losing two cup finals". Fantastic bit of spin there. Over our 132 year history, Robinson has taken us to 16% of the major cup finals we've appeared in (2 of 12). Anyone who tries to belittle last years achievements should probably find another new team, because they are in for decades of disappointment.

Just as an aside, with all this chat of late about how lucky we were apparently last season I wonder if a year from now if Killie hit upon harder times will their fans look back on their win today and ponder that since our keeper palmed the ball to their player leaving him with an open goal and a tap in, our midfield and defence decided not to bother tackling and gifted them a penalty really they were nothing special at all, and well, were lucky. Or is it just our fans?

To be fair getting Clarke was a master stroke. Before that Killie were rank rotten and survived via playoffs. So let us not kid on that Killie have been far ahead for anything apart for the last season and this. If the SFA were at all competent Clarke would be in charge of Scotland by now. As for the games v losses ratio. Where is the 35 games coming from. How about quoting from when his tenure started and stop cherry picking for effect. I am not for a minute sticking up for Robinson. We are on a rotten run and have found an art of how to lose games. As for Bigi. A decent player yes - but when u need a player to get stuck in he just does not have it. He is a luxury we cannot afford imho. Everyone can lose their sh1t of this forum but the Board will back Robbo until we are being cut adrift at the bottom. And so they should. Let’s wait until we have a full 1st run of fixtures and then we will know whether a relation battle is on the cards.

How many of them played a team in the final head and shoulders above everyone else quality and budget wise ? I was at the Inverness final and they had nothing to beat. It’s the same as this line that we were lucky to get there after beating Hearts, Aberdeen twice, and Rangers, it’s tosh. I’m amazed on here at times how as supporters of a small premiership club we seem to enjoy putting our own team down after they have actually done something. The games in the quarter and semis were fantastic and the players game everything as they did in the final. The club also made very decent money that I have no doubt helped pay off more of the debt. That in itself should see the club in a healthier position moving forward.

I can see a wee bit of that hysteria creeping in among the fans, but I do think it's completely devoid of perspective at this stage. Since August we've played 8 games. 3 of them we'd have hoped to have won (Dundee, Accies, Livi) - we've won 2. The other 5 were against Rangers, Hearts, Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen. We've lost 4 and drawn 1 however, it's not 2012 anymore - the city clubs have got their shit together and are miles ahead of us in terms of finances and recruitment. Despite that, with the exception of Hibs on the opening day, there hasn't been a great deal between us and them. We really need to wait until after the opening round of fixtures to ask this question.

I was pretty happy with my lot last year. Yes the football wasnt always the prettiest but nowhere near as bad as some made out. 2 cup finals and just missing out on top 6 seemed like pretty good progress from the year before. If Im really honest, I am disappointed we havent kicked on this season and built on last years success. There are reasons for that of course, losing Cedric was always going to hurt and injuries to Dunne, Tanner and Bowman havent helped our start. Main has been carrying an injury and Caddens form has dropped right off. My biggest disappointment is that other than Aldred, who isnt really new, and Johnson, who has shown some promise, none of the signings seem to have made any impact. Gillespie seems a decent back up and may eventually replace Carson. ATS, I think was signed as the left wing back we were needing, but for whatever reason hasnt shown enough to be picked. Donnelly and Mbulu are both young and probably signed as development players who might make us money in the future. Gorrin was clearly signed as a replacement for Bigi who has ended up staying so hasnt really had a chance. Sammon is the one signing that I cant fathom. With Main, Bowman and Johnson and Newell all on the books I just didnt see the need for him. I dont think he is absolute shite but we have 2 players who can play his role better. We dont know how much of last years money the manager got to spend. You can bet it was a relatively small proportion of what we made as we have to take these opportunities to pay down the debt. We also dont know who was available in our price range that wanted to come to us. That said, I would still have expected us to be able to see some improvement in the quality of the squad which hasnt really materialised as yet. Im not overly concerned with the results so far with the exception of Accies who we should have beaten, and some of our performances, particularly against Rangers have been good. Its a long season ahead and there is plenty time to improve. I still think Robbo is the right man for the job, albeit I think he has made mistakes in team selection and substitutions at times, but he is as good a manager as we are going to get and I think he buys into the ethos of the club and what we are about in terms of being a fanowned community club. Much rather have him than some of the usual suspects. There is plenty of room for improvement though, and now that we are out the cup he will have his work cut out keeping the baying wolves from the door.

If he drops Tait and keeps Liam Grimshaw and Liam Donnelly in the team my 20 quid will be staying in my pocket next Saturday.

Today was reminiscent of the league cup group stage performances and Hibs on the opening day, which I had hoped we had moved on from. Individually and tactically that was a shambles and I don't think we can lay the blame at recruitment when our core group have under-performed to such a level. I have no problem at all with so called "hoofball" when it's effective, but there has got to be a point where plan B kicks in when it's obvious it's not working. I've don't think I've ever seen a game where the entire midfield has been so anonymous. That was even more obvious when plan B was to bring on a fourth striker, despite the clear problem being that we weren't creating chances for the strikers we already had on the pitch. I rarely leave early, but was ready to go at 82 minutes until big Sammon came on. Stayed just for the comedy value of seeing our masterclass front 4.

Stephen Robinson achieved a lot last season and made some decent signings but his transfer approach over the summer is now looking to be in tatters. We are on a bad run and don't look as if we know how to get out of it. He's under a lot of pressure now and he's got maybe 4 games to get him and us out of the mire. If we can't take say 10 points from our next 5 games then I'd say the Directors will have to make a decision and if they don't then the fans will do it for them. Next Saturday is a must win end of. its not just the the number of defeats but also the manner of them which is concerning. Robbo has something in the bank for getting us to 2 cup finals and staving off relegation but thats rapidly evaporating.

je suis Ropy(and his replay)

The end is near. We’ve ran out of steam with the hard graft approach and the squad doesn’t possess the required quality to turn it around. When you consider the cost of a Robinson payoff and the inevitable clearout that will follow, I hate to think how much of the cup money has been thrown down the drain.

We got too 2 cup finals and sold a player for about a million but yet we haven't remotely kicked on,we have gone back the way,our approach too the summer transfer window was embarrassing,robinson has been tactically sussed and our dreadful options from the bench means we can change very little.were awful too watch and were now stuck in a bit of a rut.something has to change sooner rather than later and for me that has too be the manager.

I don't know about that. Robinson has managed to wriggle out a couple of tight spots and it's very rare anyone gets an easy game at Fir Park. The annoying thing is that despite having no flair or guile we are soft as shite.

ropy you clearly said the above........... which replay are they looking foward to? yodo is right

Can you get on the board if you've been lifted at a game? If so there's a fine potential board on here. We'll be back in Europe in no time. I just think we should have aspirations beyond signing a bus load of journeymen to compete with Accies and imitating their style of play.

No, we put in context the standing of the club based upon the budget and target set. That's not to say I don't aspire to us doing greater things then coming in tenth. Which taes us back to the point you made about changing the people setting those targets and budgets. I assume that given there's a pathway to the boardroom via the Well Society and given the high level of discontent you share on a weekly basis when I go to vote on the candidates for election you'll have put yourself forward to right all these perceived wrongs and your CV and pitch will among the candidates yes?

Hibs, Hearts, Dundee United, St Johnstone, Ross County, Inverness, St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen have all won cups in the past decade. Losing cup finals is nothing to be shouting about.

Distinct lack of ambition makes Robinson the right manager for you

Not sure about Motherwell TV but it’s on BBC Alba around 6.00pm for anybody who wants to avoid the score and watch it “live”.

Ryan Bowman played his first full game since injury and scored a brilliant goal and caused the penalty. The spirit of the team is relatively high compared to their results and league position. We have players now gaining international honours on merit. We are not as bad a team as a lot of posts might suggest. We are not being heavily defeated and remain in games right to the final whistle - our heads do not go down. Lots of positives and, I am sure, we will not be relegated this season.

To be fair nobody really criticised is transfer policy last season, he was involved in some canny acquisitions and would have got a few more plaudits if Bigi showed what he has so far this season. Hartley and Aldred have been fantastic additions. Dunne came onto a game and Cedric was a little lottery win. This issue for me and from scrolling through this thread is the almost universal acceptance that this business inbound this summer was underwhelming and not focused enough. Filling the teams with perceived 6/10's when a few 8's would have been more preferable to most of the support. I don't know if we were in for Tony Watt or O'Halloran but I'd like to think our facilities, central belt location, track record, ambition and ethos would be attractive to players. A manager is measured by his results both in terms of points/wins and playing staff. I fear a poor summer may come back to haunt him in the same way it may for Brendan. Regardless, for me, the man, the Hampden visits, everything, means he has bought a lot of time in my book to get it right again.