joewarkfanclub

Good to see some communication at last. I get that its a bit late, but appreciate that with the match schedule, sometimes these sit down interviews can be difficult to fit in. The only disappointing thing is that, despite acknowledging the POD refit is far from ideal, there was no mention of plans to sit down with season ticket holders to try and mitigate the problems. That should be a priority.

So we are! For some reason, I had it in my head we were on 7 points. Even better! 🧡❤️🧡

Alfred is basically a slightly more cuddly, less scarey Jens (with hair). We are currently 3 points better off than we were this time last season. Even if we lose to Rangers we will still be 2 points better off after 5 games. All that with having totally replaced nearly the entire team. After the Rangers game we have a 10 day break. We then play Aberdeen and Dundee and go into the international break. I suspect that come October we will be starting to see the real Alfred Johansson Motherwell side. Im pretty excited about the prospect.

Olly must have a contract until at least May 2027 otherwise he would be someone elses player. Given he is going out on loan, I would hope it was a 2 year extension so we are protected. I can understand why he would be disappointed. With the game time.he got in the early games he would be thinking there was a pathway to the first team. Especially when Oscar got injured. Unfortunately the signing of Dylan Levitt has blocked that path. He is still a young man. Best thing he can do is knuckle down, give everything for Ayr and gain as much experience as he can until May. That way he should be able to demand a start next season.

It does all seem a bit performative these days. I get why the players would do it after a big win, when the crowd has been raucous and we are all celebrating together, or indeed after an unlucky defeat where they have given everything and the fans want to show appreciation. But doing it after every league game devalues it for me. And I definitely dont like to see it if the team has put in a stinker. Just get up the tunnel and sort things out in the dressing room.

Sorry Grizzly, But even I know Vogt doesnt rhyme with Pettigrew! 😍😍😍

Looking forward to this one. It feels like we have banished the curse of Ibrox, and this Rangers team dont scare anyone. If Alfred gets the team selection right and we are organised and handle them at set pieces, we can get a positive result here. Fernandez is so indisciplined positionally, Im pretty sure we can lay traps and get him to step out into areas he shouldnt and hurt them from there. We have threats all over the park and a strong bench now to change it if we need to. Id still take a draw, but Id love to get another win there and keep us in the top 3 of the table.

Agree re Lowry. He has been absolutely top drawer for us so far. Not the same player as Slattery or Just, but he has that level of technical ability and creativity that just gets you off your seat. He also seems to have matured and is in a really good head space right now. Do we have some magic formula that we give to the waifs and strays that come here looking to resurrect careers? Hoping he has a point to prove on Saturday. Big performance incoming!

I dont disagree with most of that, but Im not sure putting him out on loan helps. He isnt an academy kid who has lived here all his live and has family and friends nearby. Putting him out on loan might actually make matters worse. I think some strength and conditioning work would be helpful, but he looks lost at the moment so Id be keeping him close, showing him a bit of love (as Alfred did last night) and keep picking and choosing his minutes carefully. You may be right, he may just not have what it takes, but we should still treat him right and give him the best chance we can to show his best. Ultimately, if its not good enough, we shake hands and get him a move back to whatever level he can thrive at.

I think there are a lot of things going on with Maswanhise at the moment. Firstly, he must be really disappointed that he hasnt got his big move over the close season like a number of his team mates. As the leagues top scorer, he probably thought it was a shoe in. Thats disappointing for him, but also for us as a club as we havent got top market value for him. Secondly, with the turnover of squad, he is no longer the main man up top. We have a number of players putting in top performances and challenging for his position. That will have him feeling the pressure a bit. Both those things will have him bursting a gut to prove he is still the main man and worthy of a big move. There is no shortage of effort from him. He puts in the hard yards tracking back and is always looking for the ball further forward. You can question his decision making (I have) and you can highlight his current poor form (I have) but the player hasnt spat the dummy. Now it looks like he is going to be with us until January, I think its time we circle the wagons and put an arm round him and see if we cant help him recover his form. He is our asset, and January is last chance saloon for us to make any money out of him.

Im sad it didnt work out for him with us. But its not something Im gonna dwell on. The squad is in a good place. We move on......

Good performance. 3 good goals. Team looks like they are really enjoying themselves. We now look like we have a deep squad and can make like for like substitutions without weakening us. Things are shaping up nicely. Not sure I get the Maswanhise comments tonight. I have been critical of some of his performances since February. However he worked his socks off tonight working back and continually showed for the run in behind only for the ball to never come. Sure he tried a few things that didnt come off, but he never hid and kept wanting the ball. Happy for him to get stick when he deserves it, but Im not sure he did tonight.

Lots of good performances tonight. Moorman and JKL strolled the first half. Jake looked good second half. Longelo and Hodge both put in big performances. Went for Lowry. His overall play was excellent and topped it with a lovely goal. As I said on Sunday, he will be the difference maker this season. Special mention for Kanga who showed a bit of what he is about tonight, but also Maswanhise, who worked his socks off both directions and cut a frustrated figure making the run for the diagonal pass that never came.......

If you read my post before last, thats pretty much what I suggested. Not meaning to diminish the seriousness of the situation or the strength of feeling around it.

Thats a really strong looking squad now! Even if we dont get the 3 points tonight, the rest of the season looks really exciting! Strongest squad we have had in years!

Ayr United seem quite confident they are gerring him. My mate messaged me today, very excited about it. They have a lot of injuries apparently, so he is likely to go straight into the team.

I think the problem is that there isnt really much the club can do about the situation, so there isnt a lot they can really say. Thats no excuse, however, for not being more forward facing and owning the problem. A little can go a long way.....

The explanation of process behind the changes required is fine, and all well and good. However, a simple acceptance that the club are aware of the issues and will work together with season ticket holders to find solutions, should be the minimum response from a fan owned club.

Id rather keep him and lose him next season for nothing than sell him to Rangers under market value. His form may have dropped off, and I have been critical of him, but we have moved on from being soft touches in the transfer market. £3m seems about right for the leagues top scorer. Add £1m on top if its Rangers & Celtic as they wont pay that.

Hopefully Jake is back to toughen up our defence and kick some sand in their faces! The big man loves a tackle.

Trolls should live under bridges and be scared of Big Billy Goats....

I thought for a minute you were trolling me! But I could actually make peace with that move! 😍😍😍 🧡❤️🧡 v 💙❤️💙

Nah, but the fairplay regulations seem to be hampering any progress that they are trying to make (whilst Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool etc seem to be able to spend what they like). Of the team that won the Europa League they have lost Martinez, Digne, Konsa, Tiellmens, Rogers, Watkins. That puts our troubles into perspective.

I think we would if the offer was right. But neither Celtic nor Rangers view our players as being good value for what we are asking. If they did, Jens would be Celtic manager, Just would be wearing the hoops and Watt would be turning out for Rangers.

I guess its good advice. But when you have the chairman going public saying we wont sell all our good players at the one time, you kinda hold out hope that we wont lose everyone. Losing Ward, Watt, Just & Slattery was tough enough in the one window. If we end up losing Longelo, Fadinger & Maswanhise as well, that will be really hard to take. It could be worse, my English team could be Aston Villa, oh wait! 🫣🫣🫣