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Two nil up against ten men. Take Shields off, put one of the midfielders on. It's not difficult.

It isn't just about tonight, although that game sums up our season so far and I don't see it improving. 2 wins in the last 13 games. Hammell had 3 weeks and more to get a grip and failed. A rookie manager in a relegation dog fight never ends well. No improvement sine he took over. Never fields the same 11, always changing personnel and their position in the team. A man grasping for straws. Liked Stevie as a player but I am sorry to say be is not a manager. The sooner he realises this and admits he is drowning the better for him and the team. Burrows must shoulder most of the blame for this clusterfuck and walk as well. It has been nothing less than a shambles since he took the helm. Honestly what other club would have him running the show.

One man lost us that victory and his name is Stevie Hammell. Two nil up against ten men and it’s clear to see we need an extra man in the middle of the park to protect the defence and he does fuck all until it’s 2-2 at which point he takes off the wrong man. Dean Cornelius really must have said something really bad to not get in that team with his energy and desire alone. If that had been Robinson , Alexander , McGhee there would have been an out cry but old pals act Hammell is untouchable it appears . He’s out his depth - failure as academy director and failing as first team manager . Weeks to put something in place to shore us up and he still starts with the same formation and route one tactics and persists with the wage thief that is Blair Spittal. Don’t even get me started about Shields and Slatterly looks like he’s been eating out on Xmas dinners a month early with his lack of fitness and pace. Hoof ball and go narrow when Kelly has the ball is clearly a managerial tactic and it lost us 3 points tonight. Every corner floated by Spittal to the goalkeeper 3 yards out - it’s pathetic and pathetic that Hammell doesn’t have the ability to see a game out. Yes we have a poor poor squad but he’s not helping himself . Some might call it naive but it’s verging on arrogance. Wrong appointment and it’s going to cost our club dearly .

Shields is crap; he offers worse than nothing, but my concern is with Hammell as he keeps picking him.

Neither am I sadly. Though I’ve heard rumours that Lionel Ainsworth has been spotted having a lunch meeting in the Moorings with Hammell and Burrows so perhaps a glorious return is on the cards for our 35 year old former hero. And then we’ve always got King Louis to return soon. Probably. Possibly. You never know.

Total tangent and last night result disappointing but can I wish all you wonderful people a very merry Christmas

Yep, we need a whole new spine to the the team, which isn’t a problem easily solved in a January window.

H E A ....R T S........yep it gets that desperate when you are celebrating a hearts goal. Does us a favour

Which renovations did we not need then? Pitch, stadium, toilets, catering points enlighten us to why they were not required, as no doubt you would be the first on here complaining about any of them being sub standard.

be interesting to see if any of our players are wanted by other clubs. S'OD for example is a very decent player that doesn't seem to be our first choice. Letting a few of the fringe players move to other clubs could free up wages. To your point, whether those we can bring in will improve us is the real challenge. I don't recall many decent players saving us at this time of year, other than youngsters like Tunrbull and Hastie's purple patch.

Our budget included spending 2 million quid on stadium renovations we didn't need. If we don't have the money to put a competent team on the park in a year which is sure to be our all time highest expenditure then heads should roll.

The players must take some responsibility for last night - thats only right. However our malaise went far deeper than that. Yes, personnel choices were limited but we did have some. Decision to time waste / sit off Kilmarnock / delay substitutions until late on. All of these weren't down to Callum Slattery, Sean Goss or Keven Van Veen; they were clearly at the door of Stevie Hammell. There is a strong case for Dean Cornelius to have started in place of Blair Spittal or at the very least to have come on much earlier in the 2nd half. I'm not saying he would have been the answer to all our problems but that was a managerial option Hammy chose not to enact. When Hammy was appointed the support was split, but I couldn't give you the exact proportions. I for one was in the sceptical camp and I've now moved on to the severe doubts camp. Many more are the same. I was never in the "we must play exciting football camp". Yes, he is a rookie manager and they make mistakes I get that. But 5 months into the job he's making the same ones he made at the start. If anything the squad has regressed, even after the opportunity for several weeks training time during the World Cup. I'm with Yorky - if we don't pick up points in the next few weeks (I'm writing off the Sevco game btw) then he's going to give the Directors a decision to make. Last night was not a one off. We simply cannot afford to let him carry on regardless, in the hope he learns.

Then tell me what position McKinstry and Shields were playing last night

4-4-2? Deary me. We’ve a soft centre with 2 deep lying midfielders yet, you reckon taking a midfielder/attacking option out will solve our ills? It’s dinosaur stuff. Has to get the balance right in 4-2-3-1 or variation of that he favours. It’s a sum of all parts, it functions, our defensive line functions and assists our attacking options. The trick at ours is getting all three consistently.

Naw ma hope is we get rid of Conner fucking Shields and our continual fatuation with 4-3-3 Canny control a baw Canny pass a baw Canny cross a baw Canny beat a man Canny hied a baw Canny tackle Keeps running down blind alleys can someone please please tell me why he starts week in week out ??????

I know it's difficult for you at times but stop talking shite, how the feck can SH be blamed for us having a mad 2 mins and giving Kilkie 2 goals. What magic game management strategy would have prevented the OG from McGinn, or Kelly not saving a well hit ball that was in the air for ages. For me if the OG does not happen killie were never scoring the 2nd, as they were shite all game. So stop blaming SH for something totally out of his control.

It's easy to blame the manager, with better game mgt perhaps we have won. Equally this is the same manager who got the team 2-0 in front so can't be all bad. Irrespective of tactics, formations and subs we have a bang average group of players. We lack any ability to control a game. The harsh reality is in football momentum is everything. As soon as Killie got a goal, momentum swung hugely in their favour. It happens all the time and to far better teams than Motherwell, (just look at the World Cup final). The other harsh reality is we're 9th in the league, this is inline with the budget we spend and the players we've signed over the last 2-3 years. It will take time and several windows before we can assemble a better squad. Perhaps some incredibly talented manager would get more from this bang average squad but none applied for the job. Hammell is a rookie manager performing at a level we'd expect. He needs time. This season was always going to be tough, we're better than when we kicked off against Sligo but it's another long hard season. Hope we can unearth some decent loan signings.

Your right you don’t become an inexperienced manager after 20 games but when you persist with the same formation every week and after 20 games , persist with 3 non tackling slow midfielders getting outnumbered after 20 games and persist in allowing your goalkeeper to shell the ball to a striker who is isolated and isn’t very good in the air it will ultimately lead to people questioning his managerial credentials . This is especially so when results and performances are as bad as they are. To pick Blair Spittal every week is a sackable offence in itself. Imposter of a footballer who hides behind he opponent at every opportunity and runs as fast as someone who has two pulled hamstrings. Hammell is a catalogue coach with all his badges who talks the talks on phases of play with all his textbook buzz words. What we needed last night was simply a manager who could make a basic tactical and personal change to see out a game . Many juniors and Sunday league coaches with no badges could have seen what was needed. Hammell like Burrowe will become untouchable through this relegation fight in many peoples eyes simply because they are ‘Motherwell ‘ people. We are in a mess and those two are a part of it with the latter having played a major role in the assembling the worst squad I’ve witnessed in 35 years. Kaine Woolery wouldn’t have saved us but would have offered so much more than anyone we currently have - Shame Mr Burrows was instrumental in his departure as well.

Can someone send Hammy a huge sign for Christmas that says ‘442 and get Shields to fuck’, please?

We had a mad couple of minutes and that was it. We had Maguire, Morris, Tierney and Cornelius on the bench and a bunch of kids. Don't tell me any of them would have safeguard the points. When he actually made substitutions he got booed for taking off McKinstrey who had a great 1st half but didn't do much second half. Fans got what they wanted at the start of the season and it's probably mostly the same ones getting on Hammell's back now. You don't become an experienced manager in 20 games. Short term-ism is not the way to go. Wasn't at the start of the season, isn't now.

I'll see what I can do

!00%. Even if we sign 2/3/4 first pick players next month Hammy has to get far more out of the current 7/8/9 as you say and he just isn't doing it. Looking back over his 5 months in charge - has the squad gradually improved? No, if anything its gone backwards.

Why are there no youth players coming through other than 16 year old olds on the bench - where are the players from the 20s and 18s that Hammell over saw for years? Massive amounts of money invested in this with him at the helm with no results - this was the clubs ethos and that of the well society and Hammell was in charge of this. He was given the job off the back of his performance in this role which is baffling

Hammell’s had a bad night tonight but Alexander is 100% to blame for the ridiculously poor squad we have. Need at least 2 players in during Jan that’ll improve the first 11 or we could be on our way down.

Sorry but Stevie Hammel is not cutting the mustered He’s had 5 weeks to work with this dross and try to get semblance of a team together BUT it’s still the same old shite Coner Shields should never grace a Motherwell jersey ever again someone please tell me what he brings to the party ??? As for game management what the fuck are we waiting till the 85th minute for changes ……… And don’t get me started with that 1st goal Comedy Central at its best wouldn’t see primary 7s defending like that. All in all a complete and fucking shambles and there’s now way that I see Hammel getting us out of it !!!!!

ONLY ONE WORD DISAPPOINTING but it could be depressing, disheartening, dismal, discouraging, disconcerting, displeasing.

No excuse for it though, we’re a mentally weak team with no leaders, nothing has changed that way.

Correct and if we do go down this season then Burrows should seriously consider his own position, which I think he would to be fair. For far too long we have been run like a tinpot, seaside league outfit when it comes to player and management recruitment and that will come home to roost eventually if it hasn’t already. You look at the managerial appointments under Burrows. Baraclough(lower English-league Manager brought in in the hope he would be Gannon mkII) McGhee (clearly an old pals move that) Robinson(already at the club having been asst in a previous failed regime) Alexander(out the box for a change but another English-lower league manager with no experience of Scottish football) Hammell (the youth team boss parachuted into the job two weeks into a season after we’d allowed the previous manager to assemble our worst squad in recent memory) Then you look at our ridiculous policy of re-signing ex players. McFadden, Pearson, Ojamaa, Moult, Aarons, Hastie, McCormack. And some of the absolute GARBAGE that we have brought in at the same time; Hylton, Seedorf, Clay, Lucas, Ilic, Manzinga, Sloth, Morris, Shields, Sammon and more all brought in by several different managers. Our player recruitment and scouting is absolutely dire and has been for far too long and that is something that goes way beyond whoever the man in the dugout is.