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Steven Craigan is the only one in the " Media Gang" who has actually taken time to look beyond the banal, lazy shite journalism of "they are 5th, been in a semi final, what do Motherwell fans expect" You could tell all season that he's basically seen us for what we are, thought we are shite and couldnt see what were were trying to do tactically, without actually saying we are rank rotten.

You don’t need to reply to every single post that you don’t agree with 👍🏼

Wonder if any of those posters are looking for a transfer, they seem to know more than a few on here

Spare me your faux outrage. We’re talking about a manager choosing to leave of his own volition. He WAS NOT chased out by a mob. I suspect Mr Kettlewell may have a career in politics once this blows over. Any personal abuse is out of line and shouldn’t be tolerated. That being said, fans venting frustrations and/or calling him shite doesn’t constitute abuse. If he’s that offended by that, then I suggest he’s in the wrong career. As for SODs, his time would be better spent contemplating his own failings rather than blaming those who pay his wages.

In the context of what we're are currently talking about, is this comment acceptable ? Maybe this is supposed to be tongue in cheek but if it is not I don't think it is acceptable. For those who think it is acceptable, ask yourself the question ' If somebody was saying this about a member of my family on a public forum, how would I feel about it?' SOD himself has taken unacceptable levels of abuse from our support in recent times. We can't simply pretend that all the negativity is just a media led conspiracy.

He's saying that because SK is the only manager in the premiership that would have SOD in the first team I am afraid he's past it after the last injury ,he's probly feeling bad as well he sold the jerseys twice adding to pressure on SK to go. Anyway footballs a big boys game ,or it used to be, a bit of abuse and stick comes with the territory when your a manager. What other job do you resign from cause you can't hack it and get your full contract paid as you leave. We pay hard earned cash in a recession to watch shite like that week after week your allowed to voice your opinion or we would all be sitting with our arms folded nodding politely. I'm still raging at the tone of that club statement re poor SK abuse. It looks like the club is blaming the fans very badly worded and as i said before the press are having a field day.

SOD knifed Alexander and Hammell. He’s a fucking charlatan that should’ve been chased long ago. Fuck him.

All they needed to say was although we recognise the right of our fanbase to criticise and voice their concerns, we also recognise that a small vocal minority may have taken their criticism a bit too far and we would urge them to consider their actions going forward so that it does not reflect on the wider fan base and cause negative publicity for the club. Or words to that effect

The personal abuse stuff is bullshit, it's SK trying to keep his reputation intact to deflect from the fact that he had lost the dressing room and ran out of ideas. And it's worked, he's now the victim a good manager forced out of a job by the foul mouthed fans. As a rule anything written about football clubs outwith the ugly sisters by the west of Scotland media is best ignored as its mainly pandering bullshit with a blue or green tinge depending on what "big team" the journo supports.

Manager critcises fans for abuse manager abuses refferees / 4th officials personal abuse from fans in not accceptable but come to feck stuart you have been working your ticket since you slated the fans youv managed to get out while your stock is slightly high but youv seen the mess we are in and only heading in one direction if SF sets up on a totally differant formation in the next 3 games that we might suspect there was a differance in opinions beetween manager and assisant time will tell but i personally think SK has pulled a stroke on his timing of this and his BBC radio scotland pals will rally round him , except craggs who has been highly critical of the way we play and the stats of posecion and shots on goal Any way onwards n upwards and dont let the door hit your arse on the way out stuarty boy am sure you will pop up elsewhere talking about 5 th place ,semi final , theo, blah blah But you wont talk about how bad weve been for weeks , tumbolla team selections, sq pegs in round holes, etc you will spin it all out bout your good times , but dont forget, YOU turned the fans against you NEXT PLEASE 👍

Not sure I agree with this...Robinsons blood and thunder style of play with Moult, Bowman, Hartley, Aldred etc was far easier to watch than the passive, stand off-ish, 30% possession at McDiarmid park daftness that's been served up recently. Not that I want Robinson back, nor think he would come back either

Jesus Fucking Christ. Congratulations, despite some tough competition, you’ve won fuckwit of the day 👍🏼

I'm sure if the club continues their PR disaster and further alienates the fanbase, Caldwell will be getting a fair few emails from longstanding season ticket holders explaining why they are no longer renewing. Perhaps then he will conveniently remember who funds his and the players' salaries.

I’m not doubting for a second that Stuart was subjected to an element abuse that may have crossed the line, but if it’s to the scale where he’s felt the only option was to tender his resignation then perhaps it would be prudent of the club to carry out an investigation and hold those responsible of said abuse to account. Instead they have verbatim pedalled the narrative of an outgoing manager, throwing your entire fan base under the bus with a poorly worded statement. In what other business would you not protect your own interests and those of your customers? Absolutely incredible, and has the potential to create a real divide between the club and the fans when we should be calling for unity. Interviews and snippets with Frail and SOD are adding fuel to the fire and allowing the media to have a field day with this when they ignore sectarian bile being spouted on a weekly basis and the stick that certain other managers have received recently. Personal abuse of any kind is completely unacceptable, unfortunately it’s rife in the world of football and every club has its element of unsavoury fans, the club has fuelled this narrative and I’m at a loss to see what they are trying to gain from it? Hardly an enticing job for a potential new manager when it’s plastered all over the news that the fans are abusive and hounded the manager out, also not the best message to send out when you will be begging said fans to renew season tickets in a few months time.

Your football CV is much like mine. The sad thing is that the club is in our heart and it's the hope that keeps bringing us back. The club has been in some really dark places in the past, but we always found a way to survive and push on. We badly need leadership and someone to lift us out of this apathy.

Someone who doesn't bring their family to work.

Jeez can we please not start booing SOD on Sunday if he plays?. Really fed up with the pelters that lad takes. Yes he hasn't been playing well but seems to get blamed for everything, anyone got proof? Hmmmmm

I assume you are new to both football and the internet?

And not a mention of his part in all of that.

That’d be an interesting one. I’d like this 100% more than the other names mentioned. an experienced manager with contacts (not lenses) would be beneficial for us as a club.

Thought all the folk that were desperate for ketts to leave would have been on here with their suggestions,pretty quiet.

Robinson's tenure featured three terrible runs of form the last of which almost got us relegated. It wasn't all bad but here's the thing about 'style of play'. When Robinson had either of the two outstanding players during his reign, Moult and Turnbull, we were decent to very good. When those players weren't there (or not being played) we were mostly garbage. To play good football you need good footballers. Under Robinson, under anyone. I'm in my fifth decade going to Fir Park. In that time we've had 4, 5, maybe at a push 6 teams that actually played consistent good football and all of them had, at our level, outstanding players whether it was Tom Boyd, Davie Cooper, Tommy Coyne, Brian Martin, Paul Lambert, David Turnbull, Ross McCormick, Darren Randolph, Michael Higdon or who ever. Outside of Lennon Miler we don't have anyone and he's had two periods of injury that, both times, has seen our form fall away. At its most innocent the quest for good football without good footballers is like the alchemy of the modern day. It's a bird brained folly. It's just not going to happen. At its worst it's a re-write of the clubs history to justify the most atrocious toxicity. It's like alt right weirdo Trump stuff that denies actual reality. It used to be you went to the football to escape all the bad things of life. Now the football is all the bad things of life magnified. Support the team and stop all this idiotic, toxic hatred.

Thats pretty much my view too. I was at both Perth games. I'm not saying that he wasn't abused but I never heard any of that. There was widescale booing at the culmination of both games and shouts of "resign" or similar but that was about it. I didn't hear any cursing, oathing or personal abuse. That would be out of order. I have to say our fans are no worse than those of any other club. I've not read or seen anything nasty on social media.

Some of the performances this season have been horrendous,the last few away from home are as bad as it gets.injuries aside,our squad is a shambles,he had a preferred formation and the whole time he was here,he never signed players suited to that system.hes definitely been feeling the pressure the last few weeks with the constant back and forth with officials and the comments after the cup game,he had been criticised a lot for his substitutions and they were the final nail in his coffin for me on saturday,we were clearly trying too see the game out and he brings on a guy that he clearly doesn't rate and the other that was signed the day before,absolute madness and you can see why folk had it in for him.it can't be nice for a managers family to hear any sort of abuse directed his way.i think the abuse thing is a smokescreen,there's clearly issues with the team and he's got out while his stock is still in decent shape but at the same time,he's probably not done himself many favours with any future employers as any club he goes too next will have supporters that dish out abuse and might think twice about employing him.

I doubt Casey got close enough to his man for a proper bust up.

Kettlewell was what we needed 2 years ago. He dug us out a hole then, and he can certainly take credit for good things in those 2 years. Unfortunatley, we've never really kicked on from his first half season, and his footballing philosophy for the club is no longer working. Good luck for the future Stuart.

The more I think about this, the more annoyed I'm getting at SK and him citing abuse from the stands as his reason for rapping it...I'm glad he has mind, but it looks to me that he's hiding behind that excuse (there is no way, that the abuse was that excessive that it's forced a pure dead fitba man into chucking it) because he knew the writing was on the wall after recent performances from the team on the park, the recent spate of run-ins he's had with officialdom and his incredibly stupid interview where he couldn't have been more condescending to the people who pay his wages if he'd tried. I didn't have a huge opinion on SK before today, either positive or negative but he's gone way down in my estimation now.

When we were 'in it together' through relegation and admin there was a unity of purpose, now we are just middling shite among middling shite, managerial merry go round as we approach the inevitable people leaving and the football getting worse. The trend has not stopped since administration.

So odonnell remembers robinson getting abuse at games,well according to one of the better poster over on p&b(crazylegsjoe) odonnell only ever played under robinson behind closed doors during covid,if that's true then it's laughable yet shocking for a senior player to come out with rubbish like that.

SOD is ‘fair game’ because he’s been poor for 4 seasons. I can name half a dozen errors leading to goals just this season. If he wanted to keep his manager in a comfortable position then he should’ve performed on the pitch for him. Our full fanbase is not ‘fair game’ because quite clearly it was not the vast majority of fans that abused Stuart Kettlewell. There is no circumstance in which any current player or member of staff should be taking aim at fans.

Last post on this. I'm fuming that Kettlewell didn't have the balls to go with some dignity although I can understand why he did what he did. I'm absolutely fuming that a few arseholes who think they can shout whatever they like have put us in this position. I'm also fuming at the club and the Well Society for putting out statements that effectively tar us all with the same brush as the arseholes above and given the press a field day. I'm actually beginning to question the whole set up of the club as we look like Amateur night at the Palladium. Seriously considering just walking away after 60 years.

No need to apologise and regarding your last comment, I have been really surprised by how much this story has got to me over the last 24 hours when generally these days I am very philosophical about the football. Bewildered sums it up nicely.

I think SOD is an easy target for some fans and has been for quite some time now

No booing from me. I'm merely making an observation on a forum. He does, however, need to improve his performances.

I'd honestly love to see the likes of Kettlewell and SOD spend a season at one of the old firm that was doing poorly...they'd know all about it then. If said abuse of SOD, is 'yer no very good Stephen' then I'm as guilty as charged.

Can honestly say for the first time in 50 years, I really don't care. Lose heavily and fans will be blamed

The club - in its infinite wisdom - is doing its best to create an us vs them scenario. I mean, how dare the fans of a fan owned club express their discontent at how their club is being managed. Disgusting fan behaviour. All of this is very unwise and won't end well for Caldwell or the players who comment negatively about the fans in the media (e.g. SOD).

No problem Gaz. I never thought about varying definitions of abuse but you're right.

The club are requesting that there is a show of support by the fans at the game on Sunday for SK and the interim management team with 90 minutes of silence.

This is spot on in regard to both playing style and the increasingly toxic nature of football and society in general. I have just read through the last 24 hours of posts and the lack of self awareness is fairly staggering. It is interesting how we are very comfortable putting an individuals performance and character under almost intolerable levels of scrutiny for an extended period of time and yet as soon as the spotlight falls on our own behaviours we cry that it is not fair and that we are being victimised.

Exactly!

He said, she said. Your fault their fault. ok I’m moving along to the new manager thread.

I'm very sceptical of the level of "abuse" being leveled at the fans and where it really sits in the scale of reasoning for him resigning. I'm absolutely sure there will have been a small minority that take it way too far in their venting of criticism but you can't convince me this is some anomaly that everyone in football doesn't come across on the regular. It very much smacks of a full blown ego driven temper tantrum in the "it's ma baw and you're no playing with it" style. No doubt he's probably fed up of the criticism being leveled at him, but let's be honest, the criticism is valid. I've never been a big fan and other than a couple of purple patches he's been poor on several fronts. It might end up being a case of be careful what you wish for, but it also might not.

Let me say at the outset, that abuse from fans, in whatever form, towards anyone in the employment of their football club should not be tolerated. I harbour no ill-will toward Mr Kettlewell but I firmly believe that he has done a fantastic snow job with his resignation and likely gotten exactly what he wanted from it. All of the reactions from the football media and football fraternity towards him have been highly positive and in his favour and allowed him to walk away with his football reputation intact. Bravo!!

Great Post and quite simply put. The toxicity at cup game was terrible and it seems this is happening now all the time . These people that spout that nonsense would not do it in any other situation and I'd imagine if they saw players/manager in the street would be all pally wally with them. It's been interesting since SK resigned seeing the keyboard warriors all over social media who slaughter managers players etc saying "wasn't me". They need called out by someone for being the eejits that they are. They are obviously a wee bit worried of getting the blame. I've saw a lot of I've not heard anything bad at games etc which is nonsense as I certainly have and this notion that you pay entry to a game gives you jurisdiction to spout pish to players is ridiculous. Also the email from stuart mcall which someone else has put up shows managers can leave with dignity.

I don’t see anything other than Frail being made ‘interim manager’ until the end of the season, along with the current coaches etc. That scenario, which may or may not be pretty, will give the club a decent amount of time and space to find the right candidates for the entire management and coaching team for next season. The pool of potential candidates will also be better by the end of the season.

It's pretty obvious ST would never come back after some of the abuse he took and why should he. However no one is going to convince me that anything I’ve seen since he left has approached being up to the standards he set. Given the budget he had we had players that worked damn hard for the team and actually cared, we could do with some of that toughness back. I know some people don’t like to talk about budgets and think we should have a higher standard of football but that’s Scottish football in general. Anyone that’s decent goes down south the first chance they get because even National league clubs with rich owners can pay more in both transfer fees and wages. Bigger clubs than Motherwell with way more money up here are way worse. I’ve always said some supporters have their heads in the sand thinking the grass will be greener with someone else in charge, well it’s simply not and this is probably as good as it’s going to get. I rarely post on here these days, just get a bit frustrated with one or two individuals who seem to love what they see as failure which gives them the opportunity to throw some abuse around. What I do know is this is not a good look for the club.

I think the 'abuse' bit is a convenient scapegoat. He's realised he can't turn this round so he is going now to protect the legacy of the good things he has done, unsullied by a potential relegation battle, now leaving a club that has backed him to the hilt in the transfer market managerless with only a week to go in the window. That Daily Record piece could have been written by SK himself, all the positives, none of the negatives.

For me Stuart Kettlewell leaves the club having overseen some very positive results. Keeping us up more than comfortably in 2023 after the combined debacle of Alexander and Hammell. Securing back to back draws at Celtic Park ending a wretched run against them stretching back to 2018 Being the first Motherwell manager in over twenty years to guide us to a league victory over Rangers and the first in 27 years to win a League match at Ibrox Theo Bair Pulling things around after a dismal run last season and securing Premiership safety And getting us to our first Semi Final in over six years Yes the football was dreadful a lot of the time and the results matched that especially in late 2023 but he does go with some credit in the bank.

I sit in the East Stand and I never heard regular abuse at him. Not sure what it's like in the Main Stand. There is no excuse for personal abuse but it also sounds his way of deflecting away from his recent record. If he had care about the club that certainly isn't the way to part. But.......again there is no excuse for personal abuse when it stops his family going. I couldn't go Alexander but the abuse he got at times was shocking also. A big reset for some of our fans also