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To be completley honest as good as Bair has been I'd be cashing in. Don't see him replicating the same numbers next season and his value will drop. Build the team next season around Lennon Miller and ideally get him to sign on for another year to protect his value. Seen a lot on here wanting to keep Mcginn I don't mind him but he makes too many mistakes for me i'd be bringing in a whole new back 5 only Cb I'd keep is Dan Casey

Why? The club's finances are sustainable, the manager has a budget that allows him to compete for Top 6 and the Well Society has £700,000 in reserves and has a charge on the club of £900,000. If individual members want to put more money in no one is stopping them but there's no pressing need at the moment to lean on the membership for more funds.

If the proposal is shit then what's the point? If the Well Society board is split then the next steps will be complicated. These sort of repercussions are why it was a stupid idea to let Jim McMahon run about trying to give away a football club that he doesn't own.

I didn't take offence. I just think personally over this season I've seen posts on here and on other forums where people post saying most fans think this or that . There's around 30 people who post on here regularly if that. I also think the poor cup run is being used to suggest that Kettlewell isn't up to the job. When was the last time Motherwell had a decent cup run? For clarification. There's nothing I'd like better than to see Motherwell get top six every year. I was delighted when we last got top six. However for me the main objective is to avoid relegation and that isn't because I don't want success for my club - it's because retaining our top flight status is essential. I don't want to see us drop down into a league that we might struggle to get back out of. We've made top six 9 times in the last twenty years so it's obvious there are going to be seasons where we make it. Seasons where we just miss out and seasons like this.

Thats it for me. Historically, a slightly worse season than normal, but there are mitigating factors. SK has credit in the bank for turning it around after Stevie Hammell left us in a mess. He also cleared a lot of deadwood, with which he was left. A bad crop of injuried didn't help. But, the manager now needs to up his game considerably in terms of tactical nous. No more overthinking please. We also need a good summer in the transfer market - that will be a massive factor in how we do next term.

We need 8 new starters. Only Miller, Casey and Bair are good enough to be considered first choices. Blaney, Paton, Davor and Moses are squad players. That's why we need to let McGinn, Slattery, O'Donnell and Halliday go so we can use the wages to bring in the quality we need. We can't keep on passing money away on guys who aren't good enough to start.

Or realists v reactionaries. It's a null vote from me.

This thread should be re-titled: ‘Irascible happy-clappers vs doom-mongers’

Totally agree with you, my reaction was more toward the condescending reply Spiderpig typed from his high horse to my original post. We've had worse seasons and we've had better..................the joys of being a Motherwell fan

Pretty much the result I expected, but not achieved in the way I envisaged it. I’m not overly fussed that the players hit the beach, but I was deeply concerned that our manager appeared to. That sent out the wrong message beforehand to the players. St Johnstone were always going to be up for it and fortune certainly favoured the brave in their case. The game itself was a cameo of our season; losing cheap first goals; defensive calamities; throwing on 500 strikers willy nilly late on. We took 3 points out of a possible 12 against St Johnstone this season. Let that sink in. What concerned me most was the manager’s team selection and tactics. Going by the personnel he selected, it looked like a very ambitious attacking team, but the formation seemed to contradict that as it appeared to be very defensive. In other words, square pegs in round holes. I thought at first it was a back four but then seemed to revert to a back 3 with Nicholson playing wing back, as Melvin Bragg suggests. Nicholson was played out of position as was Paton and that made them look ineffective. Up front Bair was all too often left stranded and isolated. Our confused defensive formation was definitely a factor in St Johnstone’ s first goal. All so avoidable. The subs too baffled me. I simply don’t understand Vale playing in a deep midfield role and SK is was not getting the best out of him there. I didn’t get the need to hook Lennon Miller nor bring on Callum Butcher. Just downright confusing. Clearly the players didn’t fully understand the set up either. Like others, I would have understood if he’d stuck with our normal set up but maybe brought in a player or two who is staying or perhaps giving the likes of Luca Ross or Dylan Wells 10/15/20 minutes in the second half. By unnecessarily tinkering with the line up and tactics today and overthinking, he set the tone for the players not performing at their best. All these issues are part of much deeper concern for me. They indicate that SK is not learning from his mistakes. That does not bode well for next season. Overall he’s done quite well this season given the constraints he’s had to work under like budget limitations; injuries; and having to work with another manager’s players, deadwood and all. He’s kept us in the Premiership finishing in 9th spot. He has a huge summer ahead in terms of team building. If he continues to make the same mistakes, the fans will not be so forgiving next term.

That could be 'thought' rather than 'thinks'. We can't afford another Obika.

Apart from throwing Louis Moult's shot into the back of the net in the Cup Quarter Final, and not covering himself in glory on our second, my recollections of Joe Lewis consist primarily of commentators saying "He's not usually this prone to handling errors" on an almost weekly basis.

Don't even know if he's been that poor, just a bit stop start

Fair dues, suppose he would have had a pre season with hearts even if he wasn't playing...let's give him the benefit of the doubt and put it down to lack of Match practice .He might well be done but if he's here for another year , let's hope for the best.

Obika is out for the whole of next season, a wee boy stood on his toes in yon big photie yesterday.

Hilarious. Nonsense but hilarious. Welcome to SOL.

Agreed. Starting him as a defensive full back or deep lying midfielder to ping passes is the only real option. Whatever we do with him, he absolutely needs a player with pace/energy beside him.

Agree. Not mobile enough for that. Halliday need to be used to sit in the middle of the park add a bit of composure and spray passes around.

If we're looking for someone to replicate what Gent did for us, Halliday's not the man.

Integrity and transparency. It'll never catch on.

Not only that, but we'd likely be viewed in a negative light by other clubs and players, which could affect future player business. I mean, imagine how we'd feel if he'd come in on loan under the same agreement to sign for next season and he'd been a revelation, running our midfield and looking amazing, only to get to the summer and say, "Actually, I've had a few better offers elsewhere now after my late-season showing, so I'm just gonna cancel this deal with you guys and bugger off." It works both ways. If we've made a commitment to the player, we need to honour it.

League and Cup double for Johnston & Biereth.

We have had to cut down the squad and haven't had the biggest budget but being dumped out both cups early and 9th in the league is underwhelming for me.

Agreed. Be nice just to get an announcement and move on. Feels like the whole season has been a holding pattern......

Just kidding 😉

Not putting a proposal to a vote would be a surefire way for the WS to lose the goodwill and support of paying members. Democracy is key.

I hope we not signing him.

Bit of a loaded question. I voted "no". But it doesn't mean I'm in the 'flaming torch and pitchfork' mob. I'm of the 'use this as a base line and improve next season' rather than 'clear the players, the manager and the board out'. It might be hard for us to score as many goals next season but I definitely want to see more home wins, more clean sheets, better fundamentals on the pitch, better cup performances etc, etc.

Wonder no more, as engaging critically with a hobby brings me plenty of positive satisfaction, and I’ll continue to do so, which will continue to piss off those who are unable to remove their rose-tinted specs and who love to try to belittle those with anything other than positive spins on reality.

If people are happy with 9th and no cup run. Whatever makes you happy. Yes we are all entitled to opinion. Some that have been to 91 final maybe have higher expectations. Some happy to stay up every year. I always hope for top 6 and possible euro place and possible cup run. The rest don't seem to be too much ahead of us though Aberdeen and Hibs will improve, So top 6 chances slimmer. Think Dundee over achieved and huge part of Thier form down to the Liverpool loan. We were unlucky in that regard with Biereth. Still think Loan market let's us get higher standard of player. Roll on next season.

They did indeed, but the team itself was chopped and changed unnecessarily from the off. I expected a settled familiar line up to start, with the young lads being introduced gradually late on to a recognised set up. That didn't happen. They were asked to fit in with a disorganised and ineffective hotch potch of a formation.

I suppose it depends on how often you've seen all this before. You don't need to be drawing your pension to remember a longer run without a win. A couple of seasons later we lifted the cup. The following year, a relegation fight. 2 years later, could've won the league. Real highs, real lows. I don't see anyone saying everything's great, but if anything, it's below average, not catastrophic or unprecedented. This season's history and it'll be all change by August, so why get our knickers in a twist about things we have no influence over? I'm hoping it's gonnae be one of those good years you never see coming.

If people in our fanbase are happy with this season then fair do's but its a no from me. Do I think we will improve next season..................I hope so. Im looking forward to next season and happy that this one is over, there have been some good results and great goals flecked throughout the season but inconsistant performers, incredibly poor cup runs and a leaking defence have been our downfall. As I say, if people are happy with a 9th place finish then im kinda shocked to be honest

Surely people can have different opinions. I'm happy that we avoided relegation. It doesn't mean I don't want us to do better. As for most of us. What does that mean? Most people on here. Most supporters?

I tend to agree. I seem to remember he was injured a fair bit though at Fir Park...

Remember taking a banner to one of our games when he was appointed a director that said "Onward Christian's Soldiers". Got slagged stupid by my fellow choir members.