dennyc

I'm probably miles out here but I vaguely remember him playing right midfield/wingback for Dundee arriving late at the back post a fair few times to knock in a few goals.

It was written elsewhere...whether accurate or not...that Wimmer returned to Germany due to a serious illness in his family. There were more details given but it is a private matter so I am not going to expand further. Regards where an employee lives, there are numerous examples of Clubs insisting that players and Staff live within a reasonable distance of the home ground. What is 'reasonable' can likely be negotiated. It might restrict who would be interested in the job but having been bitten once, perhaps we should consider that stipulation. Even if it does add to the cost to the Club by way of resettlement expenses.

There is no evidence we are talking to anyone. And credit to the Club for keeping matters under wraps. So this is just a general discussion about possibilities with various names thrown in.

And what about the current Motherwell players that overreact to challenges in an effort to get fouls or opposition players booked/sent off? Not saying it is right, just that it is sadly part of the game nowadays. All Clubs have players that opposition fans hate for that reason. Budget has nothing to do with it. Or do you think it was only Brown that acted that way? He was just especially good at it. Like Armstrong at Killie. If it's your team's player it is ignored, but if it is an opposition player it's disgraceful.

I’d be quite happy if we were to go for Scott Brown even though I detested him as an opposition player. And can anyone deny he is a winner? Then again I’m against all this analytics bullshit. It all feels like a bit of a cop out to me. I can hear it now ……’Ah but the data suggested he was the man for the job’. Pretty sure even Kettlewell would have come out well using that system. Did that route not steer Hearts to opt for Cathro, as well as Critchley who outscored McInnes at the time? Crazy and hardly a strong recommendation for its use. I’m old school so let’s draw up a list of favourites from home and overseas, invite them in for an interview/presentation and offer the job to the one that comes across best whilst meeting the ethos of the Club…community, youth development, Society interaction etc. I wonder how many very successful managers would ever have gotten near their first appointments had analytics been the primary driver? Sometimes gut feeling and what you see with your own eyes might just be the way to go. As for Scott Brown, let’s set aside the Celtic connection and the Kipre red card. He had a job to do for his Club and did it very well. Just as he did as a player with Hibs. He is a young, ambitious Manager who is doing well and is highly regarded at Ayr. Did a good job at Fleetwood who were flirting with relegation before his appointment. He left after a season or so with the Club in turmoil behind the scenes and up for sale. The Ex Chairman was jailed for fraud. We could do a lot worse than Brown. Whoever we appoint has a huge job on their hands so we need to get things sorted soon.

And a terrible deal if you are the employee charged with securing sponsors. Money talks sadly. Not sure many fans would opt for the sponsor shirt if they had the option to go sponsor free. I think they sell kids' tops without sponsor names but that is as far as the leeway goes. Can't have a six year old advertising gambling sites etc I guess. Or alcohol in the good old days.

I would not be surprised if he sets Killie up totally differently from what he subjected us to. He backed himself into a corner with the squad he built at Fir Park whereas at Killie he can start afresh. And he has a youth team that just won the Cup which suggests he might have a good few young players coming through. He may well have landed on his feet......if his ego allows him to learn from previous mistakes. Then again pressure will ramp up quickly as expectations will be high and he will have to win over another bunch of dubious fans. And he is not taking over from a Stevie Hammell which gave him some leeway at Fir Park. I doubt the Killie Board will be as patient as our Board was. Could well be gone by Christmas. I wonder if grizzlyg will be sneaking off to Kilmarnock to catch the odd game! Anyway Kettlewell is old news. Far more interested in who turns up at Fir Park. I hope Van Der Gaag is next up but I fear we will end up with a 'safe pair of hands' who has a record in Scotland

The game was a better watch without VAR. Yes, referees made mistakes and we all had a good moan about it. But by Tuesday we had moved on and were looking to the next game. Now the whole situation rankles for weeks...maybe longer....because even with numerous looks at incidents our officials are still making horrendous errors and wilfully ignoring the Laws of the game. And those Officials are unaccountable...unless their error affects the OF....and many seem to revel in the limelight. Then there is the cost which will increase substantially if the upgrades suggested are implemented. And how are we going to upgrade the quality of Official and hold them accountable for ludicrous outcomes that determine match outcomes. Apologies are meaningless. For the sanity of the paying customer we should ditch VAR. We have been sold a pup which is destroying the game we all love.

I thought it was working well in the group stages of the World Cup. Then it dawned on everyone that, during the knock out stages, drawn matches could result in even more time being added on. So 90 minutes official normal game time plus 30 minutes extra time plus anything from 20 minutes to 30 minutes 'injury' time in total. And then maybe penalties. And then possibly repeat next time out in three or four days.. So the referees were requested to limit time added on. Good intentions but ill thought out proving impractical in a Tournament sense but no reason why correct time cannot be added in League matches. Independent time keeper?

Just wait until our lot try and implement the new maximum 8 second rule for goalkeepers holding the ball which is being brought in next season. With a corner being the penalty for holding on too long. Apparently the referee is meant to visually count from 5 to 8 for all to see. It will be like a Christmas pantomime with the crowd counting to eight every time a goalie catches the ball. Of course some referees (Robertson) will ignore it until the fourth official tells him to act, and others (Walsh) will love being the centre of attraction and award corners after six seconds. The game we love is becoming farcical. It will be fun however watching Rodgers overreact when Ox gets away with holding on to the ball for 9 seconds. What I found hilarious is that the current Law states six seconds maximum. Clearly nobody told Craig Gordon or Liam Kelly. As far as time wasting is concerned, all that was required was for referees to actually apply the Laws, and issue yellow cards much earlier for repeated offending. Or is that too practical a solution. I suspect that like the obstruction rule at corners, the new law will also die a death very quickly.

That could be said of every single one of our central defenders. On a regular basis. And at least two are poorer than Casey. Can anyone name me one it does not apply to this season? A couple might be marginally better than Mugabi and Lamie but that's not a high bar. I would happily see us move all four on and start again. But I know that's not going to happen as other areas will need addressing and existing contracts and budget will dictate.

Hopefully. Hearts will be ultra horrible to watch next season once he gets them even more skilled in the dark arts. Devlin will be in his element. I suspect the new rule to prevent goalies time wasting will not apply to them. Pretty telling that Killie appear to have been pretty easy to deal with. There fans were more upset about the timing and disrespect shown to their Club than him actually leaving I gather.

Agree re SOD. He had a nightmare first half although like the rest he improved second half. But no way can he be a first choice next season. Casey does have his faults but he is streets ahead of Blaney and Balmer and is no worse than Gordon who appears to get an easy ride from the fans. Folk appear to have forgotten how poor Gordon was before his head injury. Sluggish, poor distribution and decision making questionable. Rash at times. We need to come up with a central pairing that actually gel as a pair in a back four and lately Casey has been nowhere near as poor as he was for a spell earlier in the season. On recent evidence we have seen that Katroumbis and Seddon can do a decent job at full back and I still have hopes that Wilson has something to contribute. So that should help the central defence issue. Just unearth the correct pairing and play a defensive midfielder that actually provides some protection. Casey was one of our best players against Kilmarnock, even playing alongside SOD. With the correct partner I believe he has something to offer. Might not matter though if the Hearts rumour from January is accurate.

Thanks for stating the facts. And that appearance record includes a spell when the then Manager opted to leave him out, even when fit. The ACL injury is something interested Clubs will keep an eye on though so I guess January will be the window for offers if he is a regular until then.

Certainly appears that way which is disappointing given the efforts the new Board have put in since Balmack was seen off. Maybe we need an annual farcical take over attempt to maintain interest.

I'm still recovering from him being my PE Teacher. Brutal.

Thanks. The 419 valid votes cast comment led me astray. 15% is a terrible turnout given that Membership details were recently updated. Disappointing.

From the update I just received the sum of the votes cast for each candidate totals a fair bit more than the 419 total votes cast? What am I missing here?

He started well in an attacking sense. But was rotten after that. Not selected even when fit. Possibly because defensively he was a liability and he lost the ability to cross a ball. Seemed to get better the less he played.

I don't think anyone is against signing two or three quality players on a Loan basis. Like Beck and Dalby. The issue is making dozens of Loan signings who contribute zero, and in some cases feature for a few minutes at best before disappearing off the face of the earth. Of this season's batch, who do you think has been a success? Perhaps more to the point, who has failed to deliver?

Just chat on here previously. Nothing based on fact. Just a 'feeling' one or two folk had. I took it with a pinch of salt.

I agree 100% with your comments re strategy but worry that it will take several years to rebuild a youth programme that has been diminished over a number of seasons under several Managers. Certainly the Loanee numbers are farcical and those you highlight are certainly no better than the youth quoted. But that bar is pretty low. And unless they have improved leaps and bounds I'm not sure any of the current crop are first team standard, or have that potential. Wilson looked to be the best of the lot but he has fallen off a cliff of late, although I believe he can bounce back given strong support. The players currently out on loan are doing ok, but no more than that. I guess what I am saying is that, like the first team, the youth squad has been weakened over a number of seasons and it will take quite some time for both squads to be rebuilt to an effective standard. I suspect that long term aim was why Wimmer was chosen for the job in the first place. It will be interesting to see whether he makes changes to the coaching staff at several levels over the summer. I know a few think Wimmer will move on at season end no matter what, but I hope he stays and is given scope to develop a coherent strategy that covers all age groups. A complete reset is required. In my opinion anyway. Others will disagree.

I agree. In the right set up he could be an asset. I don't think he would demand a fortune in wages. Once he got riled up by Holt yesterday he really showed what he can contribute. Perhaps along with the rest make a point of handing him a nice wee fitness programme and diet sheet over the summer though. That said, no matter which attackers we end up with I hope we don't isolate a single striker and hope for miracles. On that basis I'm looking forward so seeing what a fit and supported Ap Stam can do with a decent run in the team.

Casey has deserved a fair amount of criticism this season but for that first goal I think others were far more to blame, yet Casey is singled out by some. The way we set up to start with, Casey was on the left of a back three with SOD in the middle and Katroumbis on the right, to be supported by by Sparrow as right wing back. The goal came down our right, Sparrow was caught out by a clever pass and not one right side midfielder tracked back. Could Casey have gotten across to cover a bit quicker? Maybe, but he was only required to do that because two or three others were at fault or asleep. Anyway we won so that's what really matters. Wimmer deserves credit for changing the set up when it was clear our back three was being dragged all over the place. Much more solid with Katroumbis as a regular right back and Sparrow able to concentrate on pressing forward and making a nuisance of himself. Less reliance upon him to defend. I had hoped Seddon might have gotten a run out late on for Thompson on the other side but I guess the way the game developed knocked that on the head. Just seen your Edit. Cheers. I wasn't sure who the player who let Kirk go was. Kind of hoped it wasn't Miller.

And who was the midfielder that stood and watched Kirk run on to the ball? Was it he who must not be criticised or the one that must always be criticised?