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As one of the more respected posters on here, Im a bit disappointed with a lot of the content of your post. Sure there are some fans who have irrational expectations and sure there are fans who have never liked Alexander, but thats not where we are at here. Last Thursday and last night we have a situation where the vast majority of fans have turned on the manager. That didnt happen overnight, it was a slow war of attrition as gruelling as watching Alexanders brand of football for 18 months. I normally base things on where my thoughts are. Im a pretty loyal guy and one of the last to turn on any manager. So when it gets to the stage that Im at the end of my tether things are pretty bad. I fully supported Alexanders appointment, I thought it was brave out of the box thinking keeping us away from the usual "jobs for the boys" merrygoround that is Scottish Football. I havent been a big fan of his brand of football, but in the first 12 months I saw teamwork, organisation, togetherness and spirit that made us the highest points accumulating team in the top flight behind the big two. In the last 7 months, that has all gone. The boo boys will always be there. Every club has them. But when you lose the majority of the support, its because something is seriously wrong and it rarely ends well. I dont think most fans do disrespect the league of Ireland. I think most understand it has improved significantly, whilst ours has, in the main, regressed. But no one looking at that game last night can come away thinking Sligo are world beaters. You can talk about standards slipping and you would be correct. You can talk about them being half way through their season and yes, that does make a difference. But you know what, Alexander knew all of those things before we broke up for the summer. He knew the dates of the games and he picked the pre season programme and schedule. Despite our dwindling resources we still have a bigger budget than Sligo, we still have better facilities and infrastructure. One of our outfield players WAS a stand out in the League of Ireland, thats why we signed him, but because we wont play to a system that suits our players, he was invisible last night. So Im sorry, any failure to be ready for these games falls on Alexander, and its just one failure too many for me. He has lost the support, he looks like he has lost the players and shows no sign of accepting this and doing anything about it. Thats what will get him the sack.

Could you get anymore patronising if you tried.

If the manager continues to put the players out and play in a fashion where they seem to have no clue what they are doing I can see cricket scores when we play the Old Firm, potential record goals against. I dread to think what that defence would look like without Lamie already this season. I lost count of the amount of times he had to come out and cover for Carroll it was criminal the amount of space he leaves in behind. He makes absolutely no attempt to fill back in quickly and saunters back to his position. I really hope he is binned asap. Mugabi seems to have a confidence issue just now but he can do some half decent defending as long as he has someone covering in behind due to his inherent lapses (which was something that Lamie was prone for but seems mostly to have cut out his game). I would love Max Johnstone to play at right back he has pace to burn up and down that flank and can tackle. The guy never put a foot wrong in the Thistle game and has since been dumped in favour of McGinn who everyone can see is struggling for pace. Sol and Ojala now appear no more than squad players. I never bought into the Maguire hype (two footed player my arse) and think he really struggled. Then again what is his role?..ball winning midfielder taking over the mantle of Allan Campbell or is that Slattery role who seems to have went backwards in his ability from what I can see so far. Can Cornelius do it? ( I don't buy into all this 'he is one' of us patter) another one like Tierney who badly needs work in the gym as they both continually lose those battles in midfield against stronger players to which at least Maguire can match. I have no idea what Goss and Spittall roles are in midfield? As for Morris I will give him the benefit of the doubt just now until he settles but he needs to realise he cant spend all day on the ball and his thinking has to be a lot quicker as he was badly found out dithering in every game so far. Fitness levels appear to be absolutely woeful with players fading badly at times. We are screaming out for a leader on that park as not one player is stepping up so far and this was glaring last season as well. The players appear to lack confidence in the style of play and tactics however anyone who questions the law according to GA appears to be side-lined quickly (Slattery/O'Donnell?) quelling any dissent or just up and leaving (Woolery). Up front we have Van Veen, badly lacks fitness and appears to be carrying an injury of some sort or is just badly lacking match sharpness. I don't think we can rely on him solely for goals this season. Efford and Shields dont chip in anywhere near enough goals wise and don't appear to be a threat to any defences. Mahon hasnt seen a minute run out yet and I have no idea what he can bring to the squad. When pundits (Craigan) start openly criticising the manager, his choice of signings and his tactics which all seem eye bleedingly obvious for a long time on live TV surely someone at Director level has to be asking questions. GA can't bench the directors. The directors need to keep a weather eye on the fans because if they start protesting and staying away from games then that essential money they bring into the club dries up and I have yet to see many manager's survive when the fans protests start. Can we also have anyone but the manager do the pre and post game interviews as I feel completely deflated after listening to his absolutely awful commentary. Thank god I am at least spared his team talks as he seems to demotivate everyone around him.

Until this evening I was on the fence but wavering. I didn't even think that a loss tonight would lead to his ousting, but I've now changed my mind. Perhaps last week would be a one off? Tonight has shown that it wasn't; anything but in fact. Little changed between the first and second legs. I looked at the team selection and wondered where the goals were going to come from. All our eggs in one unfit "basket". GA showed faith in a poor defence and picked them again. In all my years of supporting our club I've rarely seen the support so united and brassed off with a manager - maybe the power of social media ha swhipped up the frenzy? The manner of our exit has now meant that his departure in the near future is inevitable. I had thought he'd be given perhaps 2 months but I now very doubt that. The Board will ignore the fans' outrage, for thats what it is, at its peril and I don't think they'll do that. I have no inside information but I think he'll be gone by Sunday or Monday at the latest. Dragging matters on will benefit no-one and could lead to an undesirable atmosphere at the St Johnstone game. Time for change and now.

That’s yer best joke for weeks

I wouldnt be averse to Craigan and McFadden. Whether they would take it or not is another matter. Both know the club inside out and have its best interests in their heart. Both speak intelligently about the game in their tv roles and are very measured in their approach. Craigan was very successful coaching our U21s and has a great understanding of what it takes to develop that side of the business, which personally I feel is the future for a club like ours. I get way more pleasure in seing the likes of Turnbull, Campbell, Hastie, Cadden, Cornelius, Maguire etc develop and come into our first team than the majority of journeyman professiknals we have seen come through our revolving door in recent years. We just cant compete financially for decent established professionals, so rearing as many of our own as we can just makes sense.

Don't know, but better get the 'sack him' thread started now......

I like the confidence that we'll be capable of reaching 10th, I think it's a toss up between us and St Johnstone for relegation, I remember a season, mid 80's we were honking under Bobby Watson and sank like a stone, this feels very similar.

We were never allowed a sniff at goal all night, the Sligo keeper never had to make a serious save, their defence was well organised, they moved the ball quickly and got in behind us on numerous occasions especially after 3 mins and scoring a beauty from the free kick, they sat back virtually the whole game as they had us sussed and knew we carried no threat, and took their chances when they came. So for me that's being outclassed by an opposition and they got what they deserved a place in Q3.

"Motherwell were outclassed by an inspired Sligo Rovers as the hapless Scots were deservedly dumped out of Europa Conference League qualifying." Waking up in Sligo and reading that headline from the BBC match report, " outclassed by Sligo Rovers ffs" that should be all the evidence the board need to get rid of Alexander, before this season starts badly as it will with his tactics etc i only hope someone at Fir Park has the balls to do it.

You really are an arrogant prick. Judging by your posts you are in a minority of one when it comes to our manager! Oh and if it’s facts you want:- ~ 3 wins in our last 23 league games. ~ Failed to score in 180 minutes against a League of Ireland side who have never ever progressed beyond this round. ~ Only added 3 players in close season all of whom are worse than any of the players we already had. ~ Knowing we’d have an early European tie he failed to get sufficient match practice into his players in preparation. ~ Doesn’t know how to adjust when his game plan A fails and that’s every game.

That’s it in a nutshell. The worst squad of players I’ve ever seen at Fir Park. And I’ve been supporting them since 1967. It’s truly sad to see how far the club has fallen since Robinson left and I fear we haven’t stopped falling.

Kenny Jackett would already be on a shoogly peg with some on here. I’ll get my coat 2 for the price of 1 there @grizzlyg

Dick Campbell being touted by some.

Maurice Malpas might lay claim to that honour.

That would be my choice. He is a winner having won premier League titles with Rangers. He was also part of the Rangers side which reached the 2008 UEFA Cup Final. Say what you like about Old Firm players but winning is expected and drummed into them. Knows the Scottish scene. Worked as youth coach at Rangers. Took Kelty Hearts job when Barry Ferguson left to join Alloa. Under him Kelty ran away with their league scoring goals for fun and conceded the least goals to. This would be a step up sure but he has proved he can set up a team and win games. Also proved he can step into a club and hit the ground running.

We should have sacked that imposter of a manager at the end of the season. The whole Mickey Mouse set up at FP needs gutted. Burrows hasn't a clue. A fan who became CEO. Really!!! He is about as good at his job as Alexander was. Do I trust him and his clueless merry men to get it right next time. NO. Alexander's after match interviews are the greatest stand up comedy you will ever see. Some of the names getting quoted on here are a joke. The next manager must have no ties past or present to the club. It must be someone with a track record of winning. Know the Scottish game and be ambitious and is a winner.

Given that Faddy's getting his UEFA badges (and his stated interest in coaching/management), I wouldn't be against having him in one of our coaching roles - but I wouldn't have him anywhere near a manager's job at this point. Right now I'm more curious about which role GA fills at St Mirren.

A legend of yours?

Get Van der gaag on the phone where's the fun being an assistant at Old Trafford, he could bring Ronaldo on loan

You beat me to the Simo punch, but like you say that ship has probably sailed now.

Fixed that for you.

Motherwell FC - fan owned ? Yes ? If like most of the fan base, the majority of Well Society members are not happy with Alexander, lets put that "ownership" to the test, and push for his departure. Otherwise, why pay your subs ?

Had we not been fan owned we would have ended up in administration again. Thats the bottom line.

I think we should be looking for better than McCall.

The inevitable has happened, altho never great to see our club in this situation. Serious question about where we go next - Clarkson and Hammell for the weekend and caretaker duties? Would there be mileage in a Craigan/ Faddy partnership or is that too much of a risk?

This is not about Loyalty Yodo I’m simply stating my view on when I think it makes sense to sack a manager and when not. If you trust a manager after the last game of the season and allow him to sign new players. Why would you no longer trust him before a single league game has been played the following season ? However I do think loyalty is incredibly important in life in general and hope I show it to everyone I care about.

Rumours he’s been binned.

Fair play to sligo over the two legs,you thoroughly deserved it.we have been playing that way for months and your management team have obviously watched previous games and knew exactly how to go about it,clearly you have competent people in charge while we have a manager that couldn't set up a game of subbuteo properly.

Ok perhaps outclassed might be the wrong word but I can accept that description. Maybe a better phrase would have been “with alarming ease”

Dateline 30th September 2021 Stephen O’Donnell made club captain. Quote from Graham Alexander: “Stephen stepped in as captain on several occasions last season and I saw enough then to know he was ready to lead my team. He’s a great example to everyone on the training pitch, how professional he is off it, and how much he wants to win every day. His performances have matched that and along with Liam Kelly as vice-captain and the other leaders within our squad, he will set the standard of what we require from our players every day.” So what’s changed and is not time somebody at the club explained what is happening with regard to the club captain - assuming he still is.

My concern is that if GA is still in charge, or even if someone else is in the hotseat, and wants to shake things up, any other players coming in will have had even less gametime than the starting 11(s) who played against Sligo. What gametime has the likes of Dean Cornelius, Sean Goss, Sondre Solheim, and Stephen O'Donnell had?

Get him out now, there is still time for a new guy to bring in at least a couple of fresh faces and he can have the full season to make things work. GA is going to get sacked sometime in the next 6 months so may as well do it now and limit the damage.

Ordinarily I'd agree, but there's a few weird situations going on. The main one is with O'Donnell.

I think people use this "lost the dressing room " line as a cover....sligo were just better , more street wise etc. Their defenders didnt make mistakes like ours, they scored goals , i dont see our guys scoring, ....look at maguires efforts on goal during 2 games and their goals and technique, mugabi defending , carrols touch, i could go on. Thats not to do with losing dressing room, heyre just not very good.

Rubbish . We have a bad manager ok. But we have just renewed the full playing surface and sub surface , upgraded the stadium, finances seem alright , sold loads of season tickets again , in the cold light of day last year was a successful season ,top six . All within the confines of a relatively small support. Where are you making that up from. We are no Barcelona after all . Wring out yer knickers .

I'm actually pretty confident that we'll win this game handily. It's what we do, isn't it? Just when we think there's no way back we put in a good performance and grab a win. How many times in the past have we seen it said "oh, with our form we'll be lucky to get anything from the next 2/4/6 games" only to go out and get a few wins. I think we'll start with three points here. It won't change the mood much with most of the fans, mind you, but still.

I said in the very beginning despite a 7th and 5th league placing our fans had an irrational dislike of Alexander and were just waiting to get him. I said Motherwell fans should manage their expectations as we might well lose - they didn't and we did. I said that Scottish teams at our level have a negligible gap of superiority over League of Ireland and none with start of season fitness - I was right. I said none of our outfield players would be stand outs in the League of Ireland - Sligo were better in every area. I said we'd probably lose last night - again correct. Now instead of going into some demented Daily Mail reader style rant, Motherwell fans have to face reality. We are a small self financed club, we have probably our worst ever squad because we cannot pay wages and we've sold all the family silver and there is nothing left. Alexander has comfortably kept us up with a very weak squads twice. It would be utter folly and an incredible and dangerous risk to fire him now. Bringing in an unproven manager, with this squad, could be a history altering decision for the club and not in a good way. Falkirk anyone? Dunfermline anyone? We lost a Euro tie. Our Euro record is abysmal. 1 win 15. Big surprise. Alexander doesn't get any free pass. He'll be judged on his league results. Now stop this mewling red faced infant tantrum stuff and behave like thinking adults. Back in the day when I was almost a lone voice trying to protect standards at our club I was derided, dismissed even threatened in private messages. Well you know what, that time has passed, sorry Motherwell fans but we are where we are and it's time to eat the gruel YOU ordered. This ridiculous bi polar fan base standing ovations one match, utter rancour the next, sometimes even within matches (Livingston) is going to drag our club down into a very bad place.

Having watched the Salford documentary at the time, I was pretty lukewarm to Alexander’s arrival. However, he came and dug us out of some serious trouble and he’s had my support since. The football maybe hasn’t been pleasing on the eye but in the first half of last season we had a bit of physicality, pace and character about us. We’ve been devoid of all that in the two Sligo games. The lack of preparation for our European adventure has been unforgivable. The one bounce game and friendly before the first leg smacked of arrogance, no friendly between legs is beyond belief. Embarrassment aside, this has cost us a helluva lot of money. Compounding the performances on the park, something just feels completely off at Fir Park. Selling Tony Watt to a competitor mid-Jan with 4 or 5 games before the end of the window made no sense, particularly when we still haven’t found a replacement. Our transfer business this summer has been uninspiring and frugal. The turnover of staff feels a little extreme and the apparent treatment of O’Donnell uncomfortable. I called for the sacking of Malpas, McCall, Baraclough and McGhee long before they were dismissed. This hasn’t been the case with Alexander but I can’t see him and his staff lasting much longer. The Board need to step in and try and make amends for a shambles of a summer so that the embarrassment of Sligo is a turning point and not a sign of things to come (ala Stjarnan).

Motherwell will not sack Alexander because they do not have the money to pay him and his backroom staff for the time left on their contracts. Blame Burrows and company for that piece of business genius. It is clear that the players are not buying into his philosophy (hoof it up the park and feed on the scraps) and he has lost the dressing room. I do not have a crystal ball but my feeling is that he will be at FP for as long as he wants. He will not resign because as stated we can't afford to sack him. Maybe being relegated is what we need. A new start with young players coached correctly and playing football. It worked for Hearts. The current squad that Alexander has assembled is the poorest I can remember. Sure we always had our collection of duds in the past but not on the industrial scale that Alexander has managed to sign. If people want to continue and pay money to watch this drivel then that is their choice. I do not. I take my hat off to the 5000 brave but deluded fans who bought a season ticket. I live 5 minutes from Fir Park and you couldn't pay me enough money to watch what is simply shite of the highest quality.

Its hard to know where to start with a performance like that. With the greatest respect, Sligo arent even that good a team. All they had to do was be organised, work hard and wait for our mistakes. The sad thing is, that was more than enough and they thoroughly deserved to progress to the next round. We have been none of those things since Christmas and it cant all just be down to losing Tony Watt. When I saw Tierney in the team I thought that maybe GA was gonna change things up a bit, but alas no. Just more round pegs in square holes. No surprise really when the same level of performance was served up. The substitutions equally as mistifying. Given how little of the ball Sligo were having, why not take a defender of and put an extra midfielder or forward on? Bringing Shields on for Spittal made absolutely no sense, and his triple substitution? The only positive out of that was that Goss provided a little better quality on the cross ball, but by then it was too late. Its taken me a while, but I dont think GA has any intentiion of changing his tactics/philosophy, so reluctantly, I cant support him any further. I dont think he will be sacked before Sunday. But he should, and I dont think he can survive a defeat in Paisley, with a home game the following week.

Don't, save yourself

Does time weigh the same as lead?

Well, its taken a while, but he finally got me there. Im usually the last to turn when it comes to sacking a manager as I dont believe that chopping and changing all the time gives you the stable platform you require to build a successful club. But that tonight was the final straw for me. Last season was a brutal watch, especially the 2nd half from December on, but I honestly felt that he would be shrewd enough to identify the issues and do something about it, both in the transfer market and tactically. All it would have taken for me to remain on board would have been evidence that lessons had been learned and a plan for improvement was in place. However, last week and tonight has blown all of that out of the water. He persists with 4-3-3 despite it clearly not being effective with the players we have, and his substitutions are just mind boggling. He is the very personification of madness, doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results! I could be wrong, and I know our squad isnt the greatest we have ever seen, but I honestly dont think they are as bad as they currently look. It looks like none of them believe in what they are being asked to do and it is seriously effecting their confidence. Most of them look as if they are just going through the motions. I dont expect him to be sacked, not immediately anyway, but it just feels like a matter of time. If he loses to Robbos Motherwell Rejects on Sunday, the pressure on the board will be immense. I just dont see how he survives this. When it comes, it will feel like a relief......

He had the brass neck to say we were the better team last week and should have won,then it was it's only half time in the tie and we will do better,the fans need to be with us and then it was it's do or die,clearly he's talking and nobody in the dressing room is listening.last week should have been a wake up call and as much as I want alexander gone the players involved over these 2 games have been a disgrace,we can talk about fitness and formations and all that but we should have had enough to get past sligo,clearly these players don't have any professional pride,we have to many strutting about thinking there something.

But they tried. No-one will ever know if Ross would have turned things round either. Would they be in any better position now if Ross had stayed.? But the Club and the fans decided enough was enough. It's that old question..."How long do you wait?" Will we be in a better position if Alexander stays for six months/a year? I don't believe we will. He has shown nothing in the past six months to convince me he can change for the better.

I'm not going to defend Ross but Hibs didn't get any better, in fact they got worse under Maloney. The new manager has them eliminated in the group stages of the League Cup as a prelude to the new season. Be careful what you wish for.

Giving him a 3yr extension beggared belief at the time. He has to go but I think Burrows has to look at his position, I have been a fan as I know he is a well fan but he is best bring in a marketing role

I just think the vast majority of the players are not good enough...

There's no way back from this,he needs to go.hes assembled a squad that can't defend,no ability to pass there way through the opposition,no pace,no width and no goal threat.give him his nice little pay off and chase him before he does anymore damage if it's possible.