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mckinstry when he came on showed up in good spaces wide right, it just took us to long to recycle the ball back to him but when we did ( which was probably more in time added on ) he wasnt scared to have a run at them, cornelius was a different story as OTF said he does all the dirty dogys , chasing about and all the other shitty stuff which isnt fancy but needs to be done to break the game / play up , some peoples take on it is hes chasing paper about on a windy day, but in fact hes doinfg an important job for the players around him, now here lies the problem . they players are goss, slattery and spittal, so is the problem not with them, one has a wand of a left foot ( allegedly) one is very good at falling on his arse for free kicks, and the other one is not as bad as some people make out but need to up his gme by 20% all just my own opinion on what i saw yesterday,

I said a while back that Spittal Goss & Slattery would get SH the sack if he persisted playing them . They bring nothing to the team Spittal is a well below average player who had one good season wae RC . Goss has already failed in Scottish football but we decided to give him another chance . Slattery was a prospect who has never got near what people thought he could achieve . You can only pee wae the cock u have and that’s not helping SH his options are limited but he must try something like a different formation cause we are going doon fast

All of that is fair, even if I don't necessarily agree that parting ways with him at that stage was a good move. I hope to be proven wrong and Hammell turns things around and secures an 8th or 7th place finish.

did he not have 2 good 45mins at ibrox ?? he sored in 2 games i think ?

Yes, it was absolutely ludicrous and should not have been awarded. Looking back, I feel better about some of our early season awards now.

I have heard the Cumbernauld Striker has rejected the contract offer, as he can get Barr's bottles anytime he wants, without having to work for them. He was happy with the bag of peanuts for each goal he scored but couldn't believe we didn't pay in empty Pepsi bottles.

Please no, one good 45 mins v Dundee utd not enough for me. I didn't rate him at all but just my opinion

We did approach United way back when to try and bring him in as manager when but we were denied. Obviously it was before my time but St Midden let Alex slip under their fingers, they have a fair knack for letting some world class talent slip away. Makes you wonder if the McLean move happened for us and the Ferguson one didn't for Aberdeen then some major Scottish Footballing moments don't happen.

Hammell mentioned yesterday that he hoped to tie on deal up this week. The only rumour I've heard that was mentioned earlier in the thread was the guy Leko, but some reporters are doubting the source of the story on that one. I usually look at Scott Burns Twitter page as he's always on the money with our transfers well before we officially announce them but sadly nothing has been mentioned so far. A wee quality signing will lift the place.

I certainly agree with you. I thought the game panned out exactly how we expected on that pitch as its always a shitfest at Almondvale, Rugby Park and NDP on the plastic and yesterday was no different. While we do seem to concede some soft goals we have been guilty of missing some guilt edged chances (the story of our season), Van Veen should have buried the one in the second half that skelped the bar and he should have slid Shields in the first half. The Shields chance when he hit the bar from an acute angle and then it hits the Livi player on the head before hitting the side netting sums up our luck this year as well. Apart from a crazy five minute spell versus Killie we dominated that match and I felt we done more than enough to win yesterday but I know we would all feel more comfy getting the actual points on board. I know injuries are part and parcel of the game but if we had a full compliment of players I feel we would be safely ensconced further up the table, some pundit mentioned yesterday that we have the best away form out with the old firm this season. We have two winnable ties at home next so it would be great to transform that home form, plus we have a game in hand over Hibs, Killie and County so a couple of wins could prove to be massive.

I'd say that we would be mad to part with Hammel we saw fit to give him the job and now have to give him time to turn it around. Which means at least a season. If it means we drop into the championship then so be it i don't see bringing in someone new next month would make any difference and it would send a bad message out about our club When he was appointed the style of play and results were much improved however lately they have dipped now whether that is lack of personal or development i'm not sure but time will tell. Other concerns relate to the lack of integration of our younger players which he heralded when he was appointed and considering our lack of depth in the squad i'd have thought it was the ideal opportunity to bring on these players. However Hammel has stuck with the same group in general so i take it from that we don't have any players capable which is a worry considering he was in charge of youth development at the club. However some good discussion o this thread

Didn't think yesterday was as bad as the consensus on here suggests. Lamie and Sol I felt were in control. Goss and Slattery were doing OK and van veen if less greedy and bit luckier could have won it for us. Now some of the above might be down to Livi not having nouble. Holt or pitman available but even so we were the better team imo. What will be consensus if we win next 2 games plus progress in scottish cup? All very achievable in my view. It will not mean Hammell has fixed everything but it will certainly quell the negativity. We need to support the team and our manager and remember all this talk of an experienced manager will grind it out etc and think of Tommy Wright who a lot on here were wanting previously.

Theres a lot of merit in your post. I agreed with it at the time and I still agree with it now. However, the thing you ignored then and ignore now is the back to back defeats against Sligo. It wasnt just losing those games, it was the manner in which we lost them and the fact that, having seen the way the home game panned out the manager made no adjustments in the second game and played exactly the same way. No one can survive that. Also, its not clear the board DID sack Alexander. If they are to be believed he came to them to discuss the situation. They maybe didnt fight very hard to keep him, but we dont know that for sure. Point is even if we did can Alexander, we cant make the same mistake again. Changing manager again now without backing him in the window would firstly be unfair imho. But also it starts to send out the message that we ate a club who dont give managers time. Thats not a good look when the time comes to actually change things.

That aside, our average league finishing position across 2004/05 to 2021/22 is 6th place (mostly thanks to Stuart McCall and his players), so it's not unreasonable for fans to expect better than the recent and current shit being served. https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/motherwell-fc/platzierungen/verein/987

Some of those clubs have significant private investment. And even then all of them have been up and down the leagues.

I think our game is a nailed on draw. Two poor teams, both struggling, both managers under the cosh. Can’t see past a 1-1 shitfest. I wouldn’t count on Rangers winning at Tannadice either as Utd have an excellent record against them especially up there and took four points from Rangers two visits there last season. We may well be either joint bottom or just one point off it come Sunday evening.

Tony Watt left because he was offered more money by a club that has more resources than we do, simple as that. O'Hara? Yeah, I'm not sure he fit into Alexander's way of playing. That's not to say he isn't a good player, but if he's not suited to the system or style of play then there's no point in him being here. It's football. It happens. If you're talking about comments I made, all I've done is state facts when it comes to Alexander's time as manager. I do that because there's this mental obsession with reframing his time here to suit the agenda of reassuring ourselves that despite league positions, win percentages, and points totals he actually wasn't that good. His style of football wasn't easy on the eye, and he certainly didn't lack confidence in himself or suffer fools gladly, which rubs certain people the wrong way. That's fair enough, but we knew all of that before hiring him. My main issue with how he left was the timing of it. I've said numerous times that we should either have got rid of him as soon as the season finished, as irrational as that would have been considering we'd finished 5th in the table, but it would certainly have been preferable to giving him the summer and then parting ways two days before the league kicked off, or kept him until around November or December and seen if he could get the team back on track. The board made a mistake in how they allowed that to play out. And the truth is, we're potentially going to pay for that with relegation. It was the type of move you see clubs who end up getting relegated making, and although we're not usually the type of club to do that, it's happened. The bigger question now is does the board allow the same disgruntled voices who played a part in Alexander moving on to influence how we deal with Hammell? Parting ways with a manager days before the league season starts is worrying and as I mentioned, the kind of behaviour you see from clubs who tend to end up in relegation trouble. But binning said managers replacement five months later is even worse. We had a choice when we appointed Hammell. We could have gone down the route of another Alexander type who likely would have kept us up (as I'm sure Alexander himself would have), but we wanted someone young, fresh, likeable, and who played exciting football. Well, now we have that. But we're finding out that being likeable and playing football that perhaps isn't as difficult to watch doesn't mean success. But Hammell is the man in the seat now, and we need to back him. Changing manager again, for the second time in a season would be a disaster. There's not many clubs who do that kind of thing and go on to succeed.

Played football much? What is it you want them to do? Seems opinion based on adopting a flying anorak approach chasing around the pitch launching into tackles. Take last 2 outings for example. Done the tasks being asked to do. Someone has to do the doggy runs, it brings a natural energy to the team & helps drive us forward more often than not. Covered every blade of grass at Ibrox and one reason Rangers never overran us as has been a theme last few months. Yesterday was spent matching the opposition so ball was overhead for majority. 10 minutes aside of a few misplaced passes, he snapped out of that. Our one midfielder who’s willing to go beyond our forward line and capable of getting back. Said it before, the midfield has to be the sum of all parts - Both Alexander & Hammell looked to add the experienced head required. Had either been successful it would’ve been of benefit to the relatively inexperienced Slattery and certainly Cornelius.

Not heard anybody saying Hammell has not made mistakes. And not heard anybody saying it’s all Alexander’s fault either. What I am hearing is the usual Alexander supporters attacking Hammell at every turn in what looks like an effort to prove their irrational, continued support of Alexander was justified. Just read the comments during todays game. Of course Hammell will be judged on his record. That’s fair enough. Some fans just think he needs leeway, time and patience to address the shitfest he inherited. And he will make mistakes. As most people readily stated when he was appointed. And the same would apply to whoever had been appointed, ex player or not. We are not even three days into his first window and folk are slating him for not bringing in the six players we apparently need on the 1st of January. In any event, how many he can recruit is down to other factors outwith his control…...like available cash, Board support, suitable players being fit and available and those players wanting to join up. His comments regarding numbers coming in sounded to me like he was being realistic given these factors rather than his preference. I prefer to support him a bit longer rather than turn on him first chance I get.

Two board members in particular bought into Alexander’s pish so much so we dumped a few highly respected back room staff and even brought in his mate who got put in charge of the doctor and physio and he wasn’t even qualified , all on Alexander’s say so. It was a mistake extending his contract but hindsight is a wonderful thing. The board also backed Alexander with both Watt and Woolery - both mistakes. They all received a hefty pay off that’s why we are skint and signed 2 loan crocks and are in a relegation battle and only able to sign 2 players / we are skint through massive mis management at board level . Burrows should be chased out of town with his Scot vec cameraman CV - we are just too gullible to actually do it.

If we announced that we were singing a 34 year old defender that has been playing in India the last few years, most of us would be furious. The Griffiths talk needs to get in the bin, he was finished last year when he couldn't cut it at Falkirk.

Hartley's a free agent so no harm in asking him along to training for a week or two and if he's past it then say cheerio, no harm done. Same goes for Leigh Griffiths.

To do the job that the number one should be doing?

To hear Hammy say only 1 or 2 will come in is terrifying. I feel for Stevie a little, he just looks like a little lost boy who has no idea how to figure this out, the fact his number 2 is also inexperienced is a disaster for all to see. His head of recruitment is clearly a wage thief who has approx zero contacts. However he took the job so he better find the answers soon. We literally need about 6 players to drag us out of this garbage and not youngsters, we need actual experience. The first signing Blaney is at least a start but its a punt. We need to sign Penny up ASAP. We need another centre half, a tough workhorse midfielder or 2 and a forward and then some squad players as we are at the bare bones. If we dont get behind Hammy and give him a chance to bring players in he may as well just walk as this current squad just havent got the bottle for the fight!!!!!

Those "duds" finished 5th last season. And I know, "lucky, nothing to do with Alexander, every other team was crap etc" but the facts are the facts. His record over his time with us is an 8th place and 5th place finish. And while the results weren't great in the 2022 half of the season, we secured 46 points last season for a 5th place finish. By comparison we finished 8th on 45 points the season before when Alexander took over from Robinson, and the year previous when we finished 3rd under Robinson, which was looked upon as a successful season, we finished 3rd on 46 points. So it's not as if we were terrible but secured 5th on a lower points threshold than ever before. Alexander attained success by any barometer a club like Motherwell can be measured by. But the fans weren't happy with that, they wanted more exciting football and a manager who was more likeable. Now we've got that. There's every chance that we excitingly play our way into the Championship.

Absolutely spot on. However it should be pointed out that our own support put massive pressure on the club to get what they wanted. It might not have been possible to keep Alexander even if the club backed him. I said it at the time and I'll say it again. Our supporters can shoulder a lot the blame over what has happened, and potentially, what does happen this season. Not that anyone will ever admit that of course. You still get people blaming Alexander for our results this season.

The guy has done himself no harm with his performances up here,a standout in a pretty miserable team

Shouty players being good leaders is an old fashioned trope. We need players that are not shite, and preferably not slow. How they choose to communicate is way down the priority list. On loan Peter Hartley was excellent, but post injury he was as bad as what we currently have now, and spent a season on the bench before taking it easy in the Indian league. Players that wear their hearts on their sleeves can be endearing to fans, but if we signed a unknown player with all Hartley's attributes and similar career path, this place would meltdown. As bad as we've looked at the back, we have been in every single game this season, and I feel that our lack of cutting edge up front is our biggest problem. If we had taken a handful of our chances we wouldn't be as panicky as we are right now. Having an actual threat up front would make it a lot harder for teams to throw everything at us in the latter stages. Right now there is no risk to teams leaving themselves more open at the back. If we don't sign a halfway competent striker, we're screwed.