joewarkfanclub

Thanks for the response. It is much appreciated. Im not sure that I accept that the club needed (or still needs) investment. Simply because Im not sure a club our size in Scottish Football is a good investment opportunity. Investors always want a return on their money. I just couldnt (and still cant) see how any investor was going to make money out of Motherwell FC without doing harm to the club. (Partnerships with local businesses maybe somewhat different as they can be mutually beneficial). The Miller millions have stabilised the club in the short term and that is welcome. But the boy was still here at the time of the offer and wasnt being factored into the value of the club. Without re-hashing the whole debate again, I do accept that there has not been any news of direct investment into the club. However, that was addressed by the chairman who went on record as saying we will go after some easy wins first and make the club a more attractive proposition for investors so, when the time comes, we get a better deal. I think the easy wins are there for all to see. We have finally got out of the spiral of employing/sacking managers and clearing the costs of turning over their squads. That was all wasted money out the door due to bad decision making. We now have a good manager, playing attractive football, increased attendances, player trading model looking much healthier for tge future with a number of valuable assets, and thats just from the club side. Society contributions are up and the revenue for the "safety net" has increased. The club is clearly in a much healthier position than it was a year ago and its not just because we sold Lennon Miller. Obviously there are many variables still in the pipeline as our manager and players come under the spotlight. However, if the new board stick to their principles and processes thatbhave got us to where we are, then there is no doubt in my mind the club becomes/remains sustainable and can actually prosper.

Surely the whole point of a football forum is to offer different views and to debate them? Given how important the Barmack thing was, and how vociferously it was debated at the time, surely its not beyond the pale to review the situation and ask what folks views on Barmack v Fan ownership is now? I probably shouldnt have used the word "Colins" as it is a bit of a cheap shot, but I genuinely am interested to hear from anyone who thought it was a good thing at the time.....

All the guys who wanted Barmack in.....

This time last year Kettlewell was still manager and we were about to get pumped out of the Scottish Cup by a poor St Johnstone team. Who would have thought, back then, we would be getting treated to the best football most of us have ever seen at Fir Park and with a squad whose value is currently well in excess of the Miller Millions. Just goes to show you what a twist of fate and some bold decision making can do for a club like ours. Its quite frankly laughable that the old board didnt think that fan ownership was a going concern and we needed the outside investment of someone with absolutely no experience if running a football club. Penny for the thoughts of all the Colins' now?

We were actually talking about this on Saturday. No Motherwell team has ever been as prepared for / suited to European football as this one. I know the chances of Jens still being here next season are slim, and Im not suggesting Europa League, but I think we would make a better fist of the Conference League than Aberdeen made this season. It would be nice if we could just fend of suitors for a little while and let us and the team enjoy the success of their endeavours (should we not fuck it up between now and then). Nice to dream......

The problem Celtic have is that their fans will still want them to win the league and they cant afford another manager to come in and not hit the ground running. They need a sure thing now. I reckon they will give Martin O'Neill the gig until the end of the season and review the situation then.

As if by magic! Good prices. Hopefully a decent crowd (from us at least) and a warm welcome for our former manager! Time for a pumping!

Does anyone know whats happening with this game? No tickets on sale yet and no confirmation of date and kick off time? Seems a bit odd 11 days out from the game.......

He has plenty pals. Should be good! 😉

Would you jump ship for Aberdeen right now though? Sure they can offer a slightly bigger wage, but it would hardly be a life changing amount and no guarantees you could get those players abd their fans to buy into your ideas the same way ours have. Dont see Jens leaving us for anyone in Scotland outside the uglies.

I absolutely love his character. As well as his skill level, which is phenomenal, there is a bit of devilment about him. Happy to noise up opposition players and management. I like that! 😆😆😆

I think the new board and CEO have shown that they are pretty switched on when it comes to future planning. They will be well aware of the interest thats coming down the line in respect of players and tge manager and doing everything they can to future proof the club. Getting players or the manager to sign any new and improved contracts is obviously easier said than done, but absolutely no point worrying about it. Whatever will be, will be......

Not condoning Watts reaction, he shouldnt have done it, but what I did like was that he was straight over to protect his team mate who was lying on the ground and backed up in numbers by the rest of the team. Thats the team spirit of winners, and a group that have each others backs. We dont have the biggest side, but we werent bullied by Celtic and we werent bullied yesterday. Long may that continue!

Fantastic team performance today, everyone did their part. Special mention for SOD who made some magnificent foraging runs forward to break their lines on top of his overall game which was excellent. But its Just again. He absolutely terrorised St Mirren with his press. Perpetual motion. His fitness levels are ridiculous and his close control and passing is a joy to watch. If only he could shoot! We would have a player on our hands! (Not for long obviously, but the cheque would be a nice one).

Id also put Welsh in that conversation.....

There is no doubt Jens is enjoying himself. He clearly loves how well its going and how quickly the players AND all of us have bought into his project. I suspect you are correct though and he will be ambitious and analysing how to build his stock to maximum effect so that there will be a decent move in it for him. But what does that look like? What clubs are looking at what an unproven manager is doing at a provincial club in the Scottish Leagues? What does success look like to make him an attractive candidate and what level does he aspire to for his next job? Probably a topic for another thread, but I was quite encouraged by his interview tonight as he is a man that chooses his words carefully. So maybe he does want to build something lasting here before he moves on?

Confidence is high with the players and amongst the support. Cant see Jens letting us drop our standards and dial one in. But its still a tough place to go and Hibs are ticking over just fine and right on our tails. Be nice to collect another 3 points, widen the gap and stay on the tails of the ugly sisters, but a point would still be a very acceptable result.

Aye but this time it will be funnier, cause they know its gonna happen! Best leave him out for his own Health & Wellbeing! 😆😆😆

Really enjoyed that today. Mostly because we won in spite if everything that was going on. The diving, the grabbing, the holding, the time wasting, the referee doing absolutely nothing about it and then having a go at our players when they started to take matters into their own hands. Not crying about it, as I actually quite enjoyed it when Robbo was employing it with us, but it is still nice to see that "passing without a purpose" can comfortably beat Thunderdome! We still played our football, but we refused to be bullied. This team has fight and spirit in abundance as well as ability. Great to see JT back. He is the striker we are looking for! Although Im still up for a big dirty Norwegian if he is already in the post. 2 really good goals, bucket loads of entertainment from Just, Slattery and Mr Chaos! SOD rampaging thru midfield to join in. It was a joy to watch. We really are witnessing something very special.

Aye, but its Tony Watt! 😍😍😍

Oh absolutely. With hindsight and a new Sports Scientist who actually monitors load management, its maybe no surprise that our injury problems seem to have diminished. At the time of issuing the new contracts though, it still seemed a risk....

Agreed. The thought of renewing both SODs and McGinn last year seemed mental. Especially after McGinns injury problems. Both of them have been outstanding this season and contribute so much both on and off the park. Who woulda thunk asking footballers to play football would have had such success!

Get Slatts on a longer term deal, renew SODs, clear out the deadwood and get 1 or 2 in to bolster the squad and we go into the second half of the season in pretty good shape.

I know this is the reality for a club like ours. But it would be nice, just once, to be able to keep a group together and build something special. I think this manager and this group of players are capable of winning something, particularly if the gaffer got 2 or 3 windows to do it. The good thing right now is our relatively strong financial position will allow us to see off any lowball offers for our better players. So we shouldnt be losing too many bodies, if any, this month.

We got £1.8m for big Theo for a 15 goal season. Maswanhise is a different kind of player but is on a higher trajectory in terms of goals. No reason to think we couldnt emulate that fee.