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Not putting each post under scrutiny but, I’m not reading anything like that

I agree with much of what you both say. The board are damned if they do damned if they don’t. Being a board member or a manager of a team like Motherwell presents significant challenges and it is so easy to be an anonymous armchair critic. I think Alan Burrows in particular has been a huge positive for the club over the last few years and the Board have done a remarkable job of picking the right man at the right time over the last 15 years to ensure our top flight status. The naysayers criticising manager after manger does get wearing after a while. Alexander is actually the first manager since Maurice Malpas that I completely lost faith in. For me the Sligo result and performance was unacceptable. I just get a sense this time that this is the most crucial of appointments and the most challenging to date. I would be delighted and impressed if they have called this one correctly. There is no doubt that it is a very tough call to make. If there is a man that I would want to be successful, Stevie Hammell is the man but I do have the fear for him. He has a really tough task ahead of him.

Didn't take long to reach the stage where some posters would rather Hammell fails so they can say "I was right" than see him succeed and prove them wrong

Whether I agree with your general point that Hammell isn't necessarily the right appointment, you undermine your own argument if you come out with shite about how Van Veen is one of the players we can rely on. Reliable isn't a word that should be used in a conversation about Kevin Van Veen...

After reflecting on it, I have come to a single point - sack the board. Hammell is a club legend and has been a great servant to the club, without question. He speaks well and am sure will give it his all but this must be the laziest and panicked decision we could have made. It's a decision that reeks of self-preservation of a group of largely older accountants that make up our board who have come under a fair bit of stick themselves for allowing Alexander to remain in place for so long and are now leaving Hammell out to dry, fully aware that being a Hall of Fame legend that he will get a bit of a longer leash from a support which has been pretty venomous of late. McMahon's statement is absolutely laughable. "An integrated club" - drivel. How the club is run shouldn't be down to the manager, it should be from the board. I posted way back when that we should have a director of football in place or something equivalent rather than being at the whims of individual managers. It was clear that we fully bought in Alexander's particular brand of eye bleeding shite and Mcmahon's statement proves it - we have completely lost control within our management. The identity of the club should never be down to the manager, the manager should be there to execute, tweak and optimise - that's why companies have managers, directors and CEO and boards. In no other business model (or many clubs these days) would a manager decide the direction of the club. With the greatest respect to Hammell, how can it be possible for him to run what McMahon states to be the biggest department in the club as the academy and then for him to surprise you in the interview? Surely if the guy has been there for 5 years in that role and 20 odd before that as a player then you would have a very solid idea of his beliefs and you could have given him the role either prior to Alexander or wouldn't have bothered with the interviews if you were so impressed. I hope Hammell succeeds, I really do but he was not what we needed. We needed new ideas, a change in structure and fresh faces in the squad. As a club, Motherwell have asked the support to back the club again and again which they have. Record Season Ticket Sales, jersey sales, well society and all the rest but the support are having the wool pulled over their eyes by a board and CEO who's time is up.

All the best to Hammy. Certainly speaks well and knows the club. ...I think peaople are being slightly harsh here about transfers etc - There seems to be castigation of Burrows/Board not being hands on enough in transfer policy. Its entirely correct that they leave that down to scouts/manager and trust them with it. Manager will live/die by the decisions, as has happened. The board can't be seen to be acting in a Romanov-esque manner and intervening/acting as Scouts and essentially selecting teams. It undermines those employed in such roles and the optics are terrible for prospective Managers etc Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Typical sentimental decision. I don't fancy our chances

Ah when logical debate fails then start making personal jibes! It will be interesting to see how long all the bonhomie lasts when the performances and results don’t get better.

I don't boo players or managers at all. I'm seeing a lot of comments on twitter and Facebook saying we have to get behind Stevie because he's a motherwell man through and through? What if he wasn't? I'm not rooting for him to do well because he's a motherwell legend as folk call it. I just hope he does the job he's there to do. I think the entire club has gone off the boil lately tbh. I had a query I wanted answered. Nothing major. No answer on twitter including from Alan, no response to an email. Gave up in the end. I get that folk are busy but it was really noticeable to me that Alan didn't tweet in a week after the Sligo loss. I'm not ready to throw the towel in with motherwell but I know some folk who are. I also think it must be speculation as to why Las left. He was offered a better job but everything is the fault of Alexander Nah. Not buying that. If the board had wanted him in place he would have been manager before now. I'd rather have taken the chance with Simo. Nothing about this appointment makes me enthusiastic. I do think Burrows and the board lack ambition and its visible. I'm probably still on a low after sitting through the shit show that was last weekend to be fair

That's the spirit!

My dad was a Rangers fan also though had not been to a live game for about 8 years and had become scunnered with the OF , though quite the opposite as after he went to his first game with me supporting the Well he enjoyed it so much that he kept going back , bought the season ticket and was as glad as anyone when we won the playoffs His last win seeing the Well at Hampden before he passed on was the 2-0 semi in 2017 which was a great day

The grizzlyg serious head says now is time for all of us to unite and get right behind Stevie and team. It wouldn't have mattered who got the job, there would still have been split opinion. My dad was a well fan and so glad as it meant he had me going to games since Ajax friendly in 1977 onwards, no fun supporting old firm, always guaranteed a trophy at some point. Supporting Well is a rollercoaster full of lows but by jeez the highs are great (1991 Scottish cup, the cooper years, 2015 play off pumping of gers and plenty more). Let's get the feelgood factor and cut out the negativity at games, yes it doesn't guarantee success but it's all part of the experience supporting this great club....... COYW

He has lived off his cult status with us,. Thats the next manager sorted then

Sad, bitter, man. He has lived off his cult status with us, and some weirdos still feed into it.

Totally agree , what a player he was for us and would love to have a player like this now in the team Seem to remember he was quite bitter towards the likes of Barraclough and Robinson also

Sadly he is quite bitter towards the club but what a player he was for us

I do have some misgivings over Stevie Hammell's appointment as I've said, but he's now in the hot seat and he's got my backing 100% (not that that means much). Its a fact of life though that his appointment has split the support. He's got a tough job ahead of him now and needs us all to get behind him. His first weeks will be crucial in terms of recruitment alone.

I shall go 2-1 to the Superwell! Penalty and SOD to put in a 20 yard belter! Disclaimer I have been out in the sun for most of the day and am bealing like a ripe tomato borderline sunstroke. COYW

Albeit everyone is broadly supportive of Hammell, the Board have faced criticism from several on here. Noteworthy that those shouting loudest have had an axe to grind with the Board (and Burrows in particular) for some considerable time. Way before the decline since last December. So the past few weeks must have been orgasmic for them. More fuel to the fire and all that. Others have expressed concern but in a much more supportive, constructive manner. As you would expect on a fans' forum. But can you imagine the seethe from that first group if Hammell had been appointed within hours of Alexander leaving? From memory Burrows and the Board have been criticised for appointing Robinson, sacking Robinson, appointing Alexander, sacking Alexander, sacking Alexander to soon, being slow to ditch Alexander, appointing Hammell, not appointing Hammell immediately, and not taking enough time before appointing Hammell. My view is that the Board have acted promptly enough whilst taking the time to assess the merits of those interested in the position. I don't think the likes of Pep and Jurgen expressed an interest so perhaps some on here need a dose of realism. Having considered all the information available to them the Board decided to appoint Hammell, That's good enough for me and for anyone to question their integrity in doing so is farcical. For what it's worth I would have preferred Valakari but he too would have been a risk, although for different reasons. As for integrating different areas within the Club, youth in particular, I believe that set up existed successfully when Craigen was in charge of youth development. A system that was responsible for Turnbull, Hastie, Scott etc etc breaking into the first team and earning the Club millions. Within that system others were poached by Clubs such as Leeds, Norwich and Rangers. But again resulting in much needed income. Latterly under Robinson..... but more so under Alexander....., I believe that structure was dismissed and I wonder how much contact Alexander actually had with our younger players and Hammell/Kerr. Perhaps CoVid had a part to play. Alexander clearly preferred to bring in his own team of like minded coaches and preferred to recruit senior players he had previously worked with and trusted. That approach continued into this season despite its limitations as evidenced by our style of play and poor results in 2022. If Hammell and the Board believe a return to that earlier set up will help to secure our future, put a more attractive product on the pitch, and provide a better balance of experience and raw talent, then more power to them. Seems to me the people in charge are doing what they believe is best for Motherwell FC.

I think everyone is along the lines of a a bit of risk appointment but everyone wants him to be a success. I can't mind last time I seen everyone get behind a manager as much not one Well fan deep down doesn't want this to be winner. I got one am looking forward to the younger guys coming through getting some first team action.Might even have a few gems the now ready to push for a place.

Look his goals kept us out of a dog fight. If you don't accept that then you are blind. We have players who never fucking show up.

Damned right Weeyin, the major reason why I avoid this forum for long spells.

Confirmed as Hammell's assistant.

No but I have one.

Given his lack of experience, you have to think that the other people to apply and get interviewed must have failed to stack up. Having said that, with the names that were being thrown about both on here and elsewhere, I ad pretty much come round to the idea that Hammell was as good an option as any. From what I have seen of him, mainly as a player and recently in his temporary role as manager, he appears to be of sound character. As such, he is the kind of person I would wish to be in charge. He has given the club most of his career and there can be no doubt that he knows the club, understands the club and, dare I say it? loves the club. That is the sort of person I want to be in charge of my club. I know that this is both a romanticized and unrealistic approach to what is a business, but we have tried serious and pragmatic with our last few managers and where has that got us? And now I think about it, you probably need a romanticised and unrealistic approach if you support a team like Motherwell. I think Steven Hammell will give his all in his new post. I hope he sets us up to play with style and ambition and, in doing so,reaps the success that we all crave. He is fortunate to have a good idea of our youth setup, so hopefully he can utilise this and show that we are a club that can give young players a chance. Who knows what the future will bring? Will it work out for the best or will we crash and burn?The one thing you can pretty much be sure of is that there will be downs as well as ups. I wish him all the best and every success. I am willing to get right behind him and know that if things do not go our way, it will not be for the want of trying! COYW!

Are you a prize prick? Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

Respect also , and this was another great occasion despite the result Will always remember these type of games

Burrows has to take some blame. When Alexander comes to you and asks for Paul McGinn point to Stephen O'Donnell's contract that he signed off on 12 months ago. When he wants Blair Spittal point to Cornelius, Goss and Slattery and ask how he fits in. When he wants 31 year old journeyman Morris just say no. We have only signed three players and we didn't need any of them. Managers are financially insulated from failure by the nature of their contracts, they cannot be allowed to control the club's budget with no oversight.

Hammell starts with my support like every other Motherwell manager but we've basically swapped out an experienced manager with a track record for an inexperienced manager with no track record and I think that highlights that no high quality candidate wanted to work with our squad, budget and toxic fan base. When you fire someone you should have a plan to bring in a replacement. I don't think we did and the club has meekly folded to the idiotic knee jerk roasters in our support. Hopefully it works out for Stevie, the club and my season ticket investment but I think he has a very, very hard job ahead of him.

The strange thing for me is that it was so blatantly obvious what we needed for this season . A left back ,a dominant centre half ,a defensive anchor , winger or wingers and a centre forward who plays in the box . . That’s five /six players in my reckoning that would need to come in and hit the ground running . As painful as it was to watch yesterday Hammy must have learned so much during that 90 mins . it was glaringly obvious . 1.Mugabi can’t be trusted , could have been sent off Again in his first tackle . 2.McGuire is never a defensive midfielder and his passing is shocking . Gogic or someone of that nature required to play that role . 3.Left back needed ASAP . Obviously 4. Centre forward that will play centre forward . Not left or right or chasing back to middle of park . 5: Minimum of one winger but preferably two who can create chances and get us up the park . I’m sure Hammy if he gets the job must/does know what is needed and the budget will dictate but not bringing in the players we need will cost us a lot more as relegation is a real threat this season with the current squad . Massive decisions for the board this week as it could determine or league status going forward . Think we’re at a watershed moment for our club and hopefully the board recognise the seriousness and act bravely