El Grew

I really do wish our new manager all the very best and I pray that he can keep us in the top flight this season. However, I feel that he may just have been tasked with the equivalent of trying to roll a snowball up a hill in a heatwave. For me, a couple of things have now crystalised: . 1. Motherwell FC is no longer an attractive club to manage in the eyes of the football fraternity. Could the new ownership model have something to do with this? For me, yes it does. Our precarious financial position has been well exposed for some time and the wider football community now knows the club is being run on a shoestring. As I've said before, fan ownership is highly laudable, maybe in an ideal world desirable, but as we simply do not have the fanbase to support it, then it was doomed from the outset. A lot of well-intentioned people have chosen this path for the club but I personally believe it will lead to financial oblivion. I fully expect to get pelters from what I'm about to say next but IMHO, we should start immediate discreet enquiries to try and ascertain if there is a business person or group of business persons that would be interested in becoming involved with the club and put us back on a more "traditional" financial model. 2. Our lack of finance perhaps explains why Mark McGhee was having to trawl deeper and deeper into the nether regions and hinterlands of English football for players. Who knows, he may have had to be using some sort of barter system involving Irn Bru bottles. I was not a fan of bringing Mark McGhee back to the club but I think the manner of his departure was handled with disgraceful ineptitude as has the manner in which we have gone about getting his replacement. To believe that Stephen Robinson will fare any better than Mark McGhee given the circumstances, for me is just further proof of the naivety of those at the helm of the club, no matter how well-intentioned and passionate they are.☹️

Well, the well-meaning folks in charge have made their managerial choice. It's now time for the manager to begin earning his corn. This game and our remaining two home games pre-split (Acas and ICT, both currently below us) are must win games if we are to retain our top league status, because after the split, it's extremely likely we will have to play both of them away from home.

Club Chairman Jim McMahon “We are extremely pleased Stephen has taken the role of manager and we look forward to working with him in the future. The Executive Board, together with representatives from both the Supervisory Board and the ‘Well Society, identified a shortlist of five candidates from over fifty applicants and as well as doing a extensive amount of background work, took its time to conclude an rigorous interview process. “It was clear that Stephen was the outstanding candidate. He has a real vision of what the club needed in the short, medium and long-term and a plan of how he would implement it. His values, skills and attributes matched exactly with the criteria we developed to be the manager of this football club and we wish him every success. I would ask our fantastic supporters to get behind Stephen and the players as we aim to finish the campaign strongly.” . And so we gave him a 12 month contract!! . Hardly a ringing endorsement of the guy. . If all that was on offer was a 12 month contract then there was no chance of any of the other interviewed candidates accepting it. Ergo Robinson sole candidate??

Totally agree. Remember this guy wasn't even on our radar up unil a few weeks ago when he was asked to come back as "assistant" to Mark McGhee. So, either he was viewed by the powers that be at the club as an assistant or, all this was part of some masterplan. Make-up your own minds.

Agreed weeyin. IMHO he would be a really good fit for us. I believe he'd be able to galvanise the club for the battle ahead - and don't be kidded otherwise, because it will be a battle and the players will have to learn fast how to scrap and might be able to cure some of the heart problems in our dressing room.

Hate to say it but it looks as though unless we win our 3 home games against St Johnstone, ICT and Accies we'll be for the drop.

Well, Well, Well!

Well, Well, Well!

I pray we don't suffer the dreaded drop into the Championship because as other clubs that have trodden that path have shown, its no certainty we'd get out at the first time of asking. Having said that, I honestly think the club really do need to be planning ahead (call it Plan B) for at least one season in the Championship and all that that entails, in terms of manager, players, budgets etc. Dare I say that it might give the club a chance to re-group and try to return refreshed. And, if I'm honest, I don't think we'd be getting relegated out of turn as we have flirted dangerously close in a number of past seasons.

I was under the impression that Carl McHugh was a centre-back when he played for Bradford and Plymouth.

Haven't posted for a wee while but absolutely stunned by this result!! As others have said its really had to see how Mark McGhee can survive this. On a par with Maurice Malpas season. I think you have to be honest and admit that the players he has brought in have been of a poor quality. Allied to the fact that he has failed since he came back to get the defence sorted out and even with McManus and Hammell in the side, it's probably one of the poorest defences we have had in a long time. Hard to see how we can avoid the drop now. Even if we managed to finish second bottom (and that's no certainty) we likely be up against Dundee Utd or Morton both of whom would fancy us.

How much longer are the clubs in the SPL going to put up with Craig Thomson being allowed to retain Grade 1 Referee Status? His performance today was just the latest in a long, long series of inept and incompetent performances over a considerable period of time. He creates controversy in just about every game in which he officiates. Today's being the latest episode. Since the SFA are responsible for referees and the clubs ARE the SFA then I think it's high time they got together to get this guy off the Grade 1 List. Incidentally, his refereeing performances in European games is of the same pathetic level!

Many may not like Mark McGhee being back at FP but there is no denying his ability to organise players into a unit and get improvement from individual players. He did that first time round and seems to be on the way to repeating it. I think Barraclough's failure was that he had a philosophy of how he wanted the team to play but failed to recognise that the players he had were not capable of playing that way. Too many football managers are like this and generally fail. Mark McGhee on the other hand is taking time to look at the players capabilities and set out the team to play according to these. I've always maintained that there is no point in saying we should play in this formation or that formation but rather we should play in a formation that suits and matches the capabilities of our players. This is what Mark McGhee is doing and I think the fans should forget the past and support him.

Can only echo what many have posted. When I heard the news from a colleague at work this morning it genuinely took the wind right out of my sails and I'm not ashamed to admit it brought tears to my eyes. I started watching the Dossers from about 1967/68 and remember Joe coming into the side to replace a guy called Alan MacKay and the names McCloy/McRae Whiteford and Wark will forever be etched into my memory. Joe's passing feels like I have lost a huge chunk of my childhood. My favourite 'Well player of all time and a true legend not just for us but for Scottish football. Too many great memories to mention. Even my dad who had seen all the past greats admitted that Joe would have fitted into any of the sides he watched. Sadly, we will never see his like at FP again My sincere condolences to all of Joe's family. RIP.

Undoubtedly football is a results driven business and when results don't go right it's the manager that pays the price with his job. Results this season have certainly not been what everyone would have hoped for including the manager however what about some of the twats that have been masquerading as footballers? This so called player power is a disgrace and we have seen it here before when a few senior players took the hump with Jim Gannon. It's high time our CEO went into our dressing room and laid it on the line to this lot that it's some of them that should be getting the sack. The players that Barraclough brought in should be utterly ashamed of themselves if they have played any part in the dressing room cabal. I wish Ian Barraclough all the very best for the future and would like to thank him for giving us two of the best results we have ever had against the Rangers.

Haven't posted for a while but read these boards every week. As far as the East Fife game goes, I expected nothing other than a tough time of it fro this game. A lot of 'Well fans out there of a (cough) slightly older vintage will remember that East Fife have always proved a tough nut for us to crack - when we ran away with the Old second division in 1968/69 season we gubbed them at FP but got humped att Bayview!!! And if you look at our overall record against them, we only just nose them. A disappointing start to the season in the league sure, but I never thought we take anything from Aberdeen or Hearts and thought we might draw wit Dundee Utd and St Johnstone. Expected to get 5 points from first 5 games as it was a tough start so only 2 points down on that. Admittedly need to beat Killlie on Saturday but that should not be beyond us. As for some of the criticism being aimed at some of the new signings!!!? Well it's f*cking ridiculous!! FFS give the boys a chance to bed themselves in. And as for calling for the managers head!! Well that's nonsense. Tommy McLean was no instant hit. So are we now going to become a club that fires its manager when things don't right straight away?

Our all-time home league record against St Johnstone is as follows:-.Played 67; Won 39 (58%); Drawn 14 (21%); Lost 14 (21%)..So on past showings we have a 79% chance of either winning or drawing the game. I know stats don't always give a true guide as you need to factor in the current form factor of both sides but the odds would appear to be in our favour of winning or drawing..Just need the players to get the sleeves rolled up and put in a decent hard working performance and do the simple easy things - clear their lines and take any chances that present themselves. Most goals are not scored by wonder passes of sweeping movements but by defensive lapses. I'm maybe sticking my neck out but I believe we will win this one.

IMO this has its seeds in the continual cutting of the playing budget undertaken by the club and it's coming home to roost now. Club need to consider speculating to improve playing side or risk a long period kicking around the Championship with the resultant huge loss in revenues that entails. And as history has shown few clubs have gone down there and come back in better shape and survive in the top league - Hearts and Rangers will probably be the exception this season. I know it might be controversial but I think when McCall chucked it the club went for a cheap option on the management front. Should've bitten the bullet punted Black and brought in Van Der Gaag. The new guy just doesn't seem to know how to cope in the current position - has tried a different approach than Butcher tried at Hibs last year but same outcome. Prepare for the Championship next season.

Self-inflicted wounds! First goal bad deflection off O'Brien certainly but nobody closed the shooter down in the first place. Second goal was schoolboy defending with O'Brien and McManus both drawn to Clarkson but neither prevented him playing a simple header to other Dundee striker running off them. Third goal was simple goalkeeping mistake - shades of Graeme Smith. Fourth goal was a joke with O'Brien and Twardzik colliding. And people want to blame the manager!!?. FFS the same three tossers (Twardzik, O'Brien and McManus) have been like this since the start of this season. I'm certain the manager will have worked out who the tits are that he can't rely on without any help but his hands are tied as no money to get some replacements in and quite a few players out injured. However it might be worth the club speculating some cash now to ensure we stay in SPFL even if it means going into the red - they can always recoup with SPFL prize monies at end of season. Might be better than doing nothing and getting relegated.

Undoubtedly the defence is and has been dreadful this season - we have a goalkeeper on a par with Graeme Smith (great direct shot stopper but useless with crosses and high balls due to a lack of height and physical presence), no true right back, normal left back out with injury and becoming more injury prone as he gets older) and two suspect centre-backs..Having said that I think the major problem lies in our midfield - which offers precious little or no cover or protection to the defence and little or no creative support to the forwards. Keith Lasley is operating pretty much as a one man midfield and gets no support from the other three so-called midfielders. This is the main area that needs to be addressed by the new manager who must get a midfield four playing as a unit and offering stiffer cover to the defence and make us harder to breakdown and score against and if that means grinding out some boring draws then so be it.

As I said in response to another post, why are people having a go at Ian Barraclough? He's only been in the job for a few weeks and it's not his fault we are in the p*sh. The people to blame (with a couple of exceptions) are the ones who are pulling on the C&A jerseys on match days. It's time people realised that and aimed their ire and wrath at them. Some are just very bad footballers but some are just shirkers and whilst he's not alone in that category, Lionel Ainsworth springs readily to mind. Is it any wonder he's had so many clubs? Along with a few others he has disappeared since the demand for showing some bottle for the cause was made. The new manager does not have a magic wand nor will he be given wads of money to sort things out so fans will need to be patient and support him not pillary him.

How in the name of all that's holy is the problem anything to do with Alan Burrows? The blame for the mess we are in surely lies with the previous regime. McCall suddenly realised he could do no more with the fuds he had on the playing staff and Dempster realised she had done as much as she thought she could. In short they were both looking for exit strategies. The problem is that the time they chose to exit was when the club as a whole was on a downward spiral making the job of those coming in to replace them ultra difficult to say the very least.

Some of the comments being made by some on this forum (and yes they are quite entitled to make them) about the new manager are simply staggering in their knee jerk stupidity. The man has only been in the job for about a month and it was not him that put us in the position we are in but the previous manager aided and abetted by the amateurs that are behind the scenes at FP. He has inherited a squad of players which is about as bad as I can ever recall at FP, where the youth policy has been ignored for too long at the expense of short term signings that have turned to be third rate. which has been continually.Alex Ferguson would struggle to make any impact. So FFS get a grip and give him time because I'm sure he knows a clear out of players is much needed but also that this is impractical and that he somehow has to skiddle with this lot and try to get the 10th spot by the end of season and then start the clear out. Remember what happened to Hibs last season when Butcher announced upon his arrival that many of the players he inherited would not be there for long -players downed tools, club relegated and Butcher bulleted.

Spot on Stu. Let's give the lad time and don't pitch him in too fast.

Of those out there in the first half, IMO the following can be shown the exit door ASAP -Kerr, McManus, O'Brien, Reid and Ainsworth. Why did we ship young Saunders out and then proceed to sign more defenders worse than he was?