star sail

I think these comments come off the back of the BBC Sportsound article where there was discussion about the importance to players of a good first impression. I suppose a first impression is by definition something you can't define. It's a feeling rather than something more objective. Unfortunately he is going to be compared to Askou and unfortunately for Johansson that is going to be a very difficult act to follow. We all hope he can match Askou's success but the slight nervousness is understandable because Askou has set such an impressive precedent.

II will be disappointed with anything less than a hat trick from Elijah tonight. By the morning I expect us to be talking about a Scottish Football record evaluation for a player. It's not too much to ask is it? Maybe Messi will be wanting to come to Motherwell to see if the coaching methods can make him as good as Just.

Thanks for heads up on this. I listened to it on playback and there was a couple of interesting points: 1. Andy Holliday saying that Johansson was recommended to the club by JBA. 2. He had a couple of challenges with a few of the senior players at Rosenborg. It was highlighted how important it is that he makes a good first impression and establishes good relationships with the senior players particularly given that he does not have a playing background himself. 3. Andy Holliday commented on the lack of big egos in the Motherwell squad which will help the manager get the squad onside. 4. As STV mentioned Rosenborg lost some key players which impacted the team significantly. 5. Discussion on just how important the first impression is. Personal opinion this but I did not feel that his first meeting with the players was particularly impressive. I think one of JBA's strengths was how assured he always was. Very definite in his decision making. Johansson almost seemed to be convincing himself that he was happy to be here. On the one hand you can admire the openness and honesty of admitting that a move to Scotland required some serious thought between him and his wife but I am not sure that it benefits him to say it. Strangely I got the very same sense from Wimmer when we saw that picture of him and Koc looking miserable in the pouring rain at Dalziel Park and we know what happened there subsequently. JBA never gave off that vibe even if he himself knew that Motherwell was a temporary stop off to other things.

Thanks. I guessed that might be the case but was not sure.

Motherwell seems to be a club that brings out the best in players and managers so hopefully he will flourish in his new environment.

Who is the Nick with the Liverpool accent in the introductions video?

Agreed. Del, Rangers and MJC are a match made in heaven. I am always very happy when Motherwell try a completely different approach.

Having spent the last few days continually hitting refresh on the website to get news of our new manager, I can't decide if I am excited or underwhelmed by today's announcement. There is no doubt that the club are trying to stick with a successful formula but it does appear as if Rosenborg were going backwards under Johansson's care towards the end. Some comments I have read are less than flattering about the teams performances this season. They are currently sitting in the relegation zone in the league. This appointment reminds me a little of Ian Cathro being appointed at Hearts. A very young manager from a non playing background who relied heavily on laptops and analytics. Cathro was unsuccessful at Hearts but I think that was partly due to the culture at Hearts and the culture in Scottish Football at the time. Cathro has been very successful since and I think he has just landed a top job in France. I get a sense that the senior players will have some say in how successful the new man is so hopefully the manager and senior players build a good rapport from the beginning. I really hope he can build on the success of the last year and that by this time next year our biggest concern is that we are fending of interest for our rising star once more.

Interesting to consider, if Just was Scottish would he have made it into the current Scotland squad? On merit obviously yes but would Clarke have picked him?

Slightly nosey question but what was your sport? Did you move to Italy because of the sport? I agree with what you say. I remember feeling slightly sorry for Lennon Miler at the time because it did seem like a big move for such a young guy. Italy can be just as dark, just as wet, just as cold in the winter months and for a young guy to have the motivation to do it speaks highly of him. All the more reason that it is a real shame that his commitment has not been rewarding by a Scotland call up. In nobody"s world is a regular Serie A midfield player an inferior option to a Manchester Utd reserve with little to no first team experience yet here we are. If as Weeyin suggests Clarke has picked Fletcher to make some sort of point then he should be nowhere near the Scotland managers job because he is effectively putting his own interests in front of the national interest. I suspect that Lennon's comments about wanting to be the best Scotland player will not have helped. In some cultures that type of ambition would be celebrated but I am certain those comments will not have gone down well with the ever frowning Mr Clarke.

The penalty shout at Ibrox was just as clear cut. It was 100% a penalty. We would have had a penalty had we been playing any other team ( apart from Celtic ) in the league but it was a clear penalty. You mention Livingston. They suffered the injustice of the season with the hand ball that was not given against Fernandez at Ibrox. Again, that would have been given as a penalty had they been playing any non OF team. Nobody cared about it because it was just Livingston and it was not title deciding but it was a terrible decision and it certainly did in some way contribute to their relegation. You have highlighted examples that actually help prove my point.

I share your frustration with this incident and it does highlight a wider problem in Scottish Football but you can't objectively frame this as a Celtic only problem. It is an OF problem and has been for decades. I agree that John Beaton was put in an impossible situation. I thought he refereed the game really well and was literally a couple of seconds away from being able to say job done. I thought the Maeda penalty call, he got right, the Slattery penalty call was also right. His onfield decision at the end was also spot on. I have no doubts that as he was walking to the monitor he would have either consciously or subconsciously been thinking about the personal implications for him and his family of overturning the decision. Unfortunately for him in this particular instance, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Had it been Rangers we were playing and Rangers were going for the title the outcome would have been EXACTLY the same. Both OF's clubs have used intimidation and the weight of numbers to get what they want for as long as I have been watching football. To frame it as a Celtic only problem (or a Rangers only problem) dilutes the argument. It is based on a predudice that favours one club or the other. They both use power and influence to get what they want and have both been very successful at getting what they want. It is why they keep doing it. Jim Traynor was hired as the Rangers communications man to use his knowledge of the press in Scotland to do exactly this, spin the narrative, put pressure on the authorities in Rangers favour. Rangers and Celtic are a collective. They are both a cancer on Scottish Football.

Would love to see MVG as next manager. It just seems like something that has to happen once. I think he would bring a similar vibe and presence as JBA and I prefer using first letter name abbreviations rather than Kettlewell, Alexander, Robinson, McGhee etc. It feels so much more continental. I don't think he would have seriously considered it a year ago but Jens has made the club a much more enticing proposition now.

Is that a no for you then ? 😂

This may sound ridiculous BUT characters like Russell Martin and Wilfred Nancy may actually flourish at Motherwell. I don't think there would have been any guarantee that JBA would have been successful at Celtic simply because of the pressure from day one I always think of guys like Graham Potter who clearly has something about him as a manager but could not make the step up to the big club pressure.

Digging the thread title. 👍 Groovy play on words. I am looking for every small comfort in life this evening.

I wonder if there is a French Ian McCall predicting that Toulouise are now favourites to be pumped out the French First Division next season? Gutted tonight.

Congratulations to the management and players for a season that we will not forget. 4 th is the very least they deserve. Time to celebrate.

There is that word subjective again. You are right, the SFA don't even understand the purpose of their own process. VAR is there to remove subjectivity. It allows referees to make a judgement on the basis of fact and evidence. The referee makes a subjective call in real time. In that regard the analogy holds firm comparing with players and managers. VAR is supposed to remove the subjectivity. Referees now get a benefit of hindsight that no player or manager has the luxury of having. Anyway now that the SFA are in statement writing mode, I would imagine they are putting the finishing touches to the statement condemning the pitch invasion at Ibrox in the Cup and we will be reading that statement in the papers in the morning.. 👍

There is nothing new in this sadly. I have said on here a few times before that my family were good friends with a prominent referee back in the 1980's and they had to be moved out of their house for a week after a controversial decision in a Celtic v Dundee Utd game. Needless to say it was not the Dundee Utd fans that targeted the family. That was long before the days of VAR. It was a very scary situation for them at the time. As I have also said before this particular referee was a Motherwell fan and I remember him saying that when he looked back on his career he felt that he refereed Motherwell more strictly than other teams almost like a unconscious overcompensation so that he could never be accused of favouritism.

I heard Chris Sutton today defend the decision by saying that John Beaton made a subjective decision that it was a hand ball and that is enough. The point of VAR is that the subjectivity is removed and the referee makes an objective decision based on overwhelming evidence. It is crazy that Sutton will be getting paid a small fortune to analyse the game and he can't grasp this. John Beatons subjective decision was no penalty in real time. The objective, beyond reasonable doubt decision was then to actually give the penalty. This is even more crazy when the camera angle used as evidence looks like it has been taken from the CCTV cameras at the Civic.

I thought Motherwell were fantastic tonight. Really, really unlucky in key moments of the game but the travesty of the penalty aside, it is equally a travesty if we as Motherwell fans cannot appreciate that performance tonight That team did not bottle it tonight. They were the better side in almost every aspect of the game and but for two moments of real quality from Maeda and Nygren they would have won the match.

Agreed. It is difficult not to be motivated by a full Firpark when the title chasers are in town. Next Saturday eve is box office. I think we will see a more motivated Well side to beat Hearts and I think we will. Having said that, I was expecting more from today. I would have thought the team would have been motivated. I think it is naive to think that the season is over for us. If Hibs win tomorrow ( which is very possible) they are only 3 points behind. Today was disappointing on a few levels.

Strongest hint yet from JBA that he is keen to stay and build something meaningful at the club. Loved his answer about being motivated to beat Falkirk. Slight look of menace in his eyes. As confident as you ever can be of a victory, I think tomorrow is looking good for the win.

48 hrs later and I am still buzzing!! The joy of football!