David

I don't think anyone will ever confuse you for that. Happy? Very rarely. Clapper? I doubt you clap much at Fir Park. So would I, if they're good enough. Even once we're mathematically safe, we should push to finish as high up the table as possible. The difference between finishing 7th and 9th could be something like £125,000. Considering we're pushing for outside investment and needing cash, that money should be a priority.

I remember the Record back in the day when, even if I didn't agree with what they posted, they had actual journalists writing the content and reporting the stories. It's a shadow of the publication it once was.

The Rancid put out a report today that mentioned Rangers had already beaten Dundee and taken three points from Dens Park "last night." The fact they don't even seem to know what day it is makes me question anything they have to say regarding us.

It's worth remembering that certain people who will remain nameless have been greetin' about every manager we've had for years now. Those same people were moaning about Robinson, Alexander, McGhee, Baraclough, McCall, and on and on. And if and when Kettlewell moves on, they'll do the same about the next guy. Some folk just get a kick out of being negative. I personally think he's a very good coach for us. Sure, there are better ones out there, but we're Motherwell. I'm not sure many better managers would be throwing people out of the way to get to Fir Park and work with our budget. If we make the top six this season, considering the squad we have? I'd say that's pretty astounding. It won't stop some people from focusing on the teams who didn't make the top six, though, and saying that it wasn't because of us being decent.

Of course it's up to him to sort out how we start games. But that doesn't mean that the reasons I provided are any less valid, and yes, other teams in the league do face the same issues. We'll start some games well, and we'll start some games badly. Like most other teams in our league. We're a small club with a small budget, and the players we sign will very likely be inconsistent, which is why they're playing for Motherwell and not a bigger club.

If only it were that simple, eh? The current manager has probably had to work with one of the smallest playing budgets our club has had in recent times. That's clearly reflected in the players we have. There are a lot of reasons why we don't start some games all that well. Factors such as early goals, injuries, or unexpected opposition tactics all necessitate on-the-fly adaptations by the manager. That applies to all managers of all teams, of course. There are times when we start a game really well, and it's then on the opposition coaching team to work out a way to combat that. I mean, generally, one of the two teams in any game has to start off as the better side. So there's a 50/50 chance it will be us. Many people seem to overlook the fact that the opposition's response adds another layer of complexity. We don't operate in a vacuum. It's not just about what we do. The opposition plays a part in the game as well. They may make tactical changes during the game, requiring the manager to react accordingly, which Kettlewell has shown on a few occasions he's more than capable of doing. How many fans of clubs do you hear moaning about no "plan B"? Well, that's not really a problem for us, as Kettlewell has shown he has the ability to read and react to a number of circumstances, which considering the quality and budget he has available, is admirable on its own. I'd go as far as to say that a top six finish with the current squad we have would be nothing short of astounding.

With our budget, that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. We can't really afford to have quality in depth, and like many others in the league, we just need to work with what we have.

Not so sure that's anything to do with the SPFL. I'm sure we're contracted to wear the various kits we have a certain number of times per season, no?

Or, just hear me out here... He puts out the best available players we have, and on occasion, we look like the better team against the opposition, but on other occasions, the opposition looks better than us, and Kettlewell makes some tactical changes as well as personnel changes and uses his know-how to change the game in our favour? I know that's mental, as that would actually involve giving the guy some form of credit for doing his job, but could it possibly be the answer? Could he have "out-coached" the opposition?

For many fans, the sign that it isn't working is that we got outbid by Kilmarnock for Van Veen in January.

I'm not really sure it's on fans to learn what boards, executives, and shareholders do, though. It's on the club and our representatives to convey the required information clearly and in a way that can be understood by the wider fanbase. As you say, the Society has certainly grabbed the bull by the horns when it comes to the way they want to do things moving forward, so let's hope that a lot of what people on this forum and elsewhere are asking gets answered over the coming weeks and months.

No, they most definitely should be involved in the discussions and proceedings. As majority shareholders, that should be a given. There's a difference between the elected representatives of the Society board being involved in proceedings and any information being divulged to the wider membership base.

Is it really "promoting from within" when the guy had been at the club for four months? Would you have felt better about the appointment of Kettlewell had he been appointed as manager but hadn't taken the lead development coach position a few months earlier? Also, is it really the cheap option? I don't see how that would be the case.

They don't have the right to say what they want on here. This isn't a democratically run public park where everyone has a right to be. It's a website run and owned by certain individuals. He's not a mod. He's an admin. There's a big difference. I'm a mod, which means I give up a little of my free time to help out where I can in running the forum, but what an admin is responsible for requires a whole lot more involvement. The truth is, as harsh as it sounds, he can call out whoever he likes. He doesn't, though, unless there's a reason for it. This forum is pretty relaxed when it comes to rules and how people are treated, with a lot of leeway given. That approach comes from the top down. I know that you personally have had some issues with how this forum is run and the leeway I mentioned, which the moderating team didn't agree with you on. It's a football forum. For the most part, the mod team lets stuff slide because football is a passionate subject, and people get heated, particularly after games when the result hasn't gone our way. I think, by and large, we do quite a good job in that regard. Basically, we are a small team, but we've done okay the past few years, I think. But it's important to remember that being allowed to post here isn't a right. The admins in charge make the rules, and the mods help keep things flowing as best we can. People can choose to either stick around and follow the rules set by the admin team or not.

It'll be ten years next week.

I'll have a look later. There's a few of them from yesterday reassuring Rangers fans that they'd do their best to peg back Celtic for them and so on. The actual accounts are all pretty similar in the pish they post on the regular. I know you have a weird hard-on for Hearts, so I'm wary of going down this rabbit hole too much with you, but as another poster mentioned, there are definitely shades of the Celtic/Rangers bigotry aspect when you look at Hearts and Hibs, so it's perfectly natural that an element of Hearts fans would look up to their "big brothers" in Glasgow. And it's not just Hearts. Hibs are just as bad. It's quite pathetic, really. It reminds me a little of how Rangers fans view Chelsea. Anyway, we won. That's the main thing. I couldn't actually care less who won between Hearts and Celtic. Unless we're chasing Hearts for third place, their results have little bearing on me. Neither does who wins the title. I have good mates on both sides of the divide, so whoever wins, I know I'm guaranteed a few free beers when they're out pissed up and celebrating on that weekend. Of course, this result over the weekend will be tainted somewhat if we don't keep this form up into the next few games. We have a real chance of snatching a late top six finish if we play our cards right.

I can look for it again on X if you like? I saw it there. As for Hearts fans not having any leaning towards either OF club? I think we both know that's nonsense. I'm not saying that they outright support one club or the other, but I think it's been clear over the years that they definitely have a leaning in one particular direction. An example of that would be their fans singing the Billy Boys. I know a few sensible Hearts fans myself, and they're thoroughly embarrassed by that quite sizeable element in their support. Again, I'm glad we don't have that side to our support. While some of our fans will no doubt have personal preferences on which of the old firm clubs they'd prefer to see win their games, maybe due to having family who support them or whatever, it doesn't leak out into how we actually support Motherwell, which is a good thing.

Although I've seen some right cringeworthy stuff from Hearts fans in the lead up to that game, posting stuff like "Don't worry Rangers, we have you covered tomorrow" Talk about bending the knee to their big club? Jesus. I'm glad we tend to have more fans that are happy to see both cheeks get done over.

You have the option to put him on ignore if you so wish. If not, then leave him be. If he oversteps the line the admin will deal with him.

Honestly mate, you've had a hard-on for MJC since you got here. Enough is enough. Cut it out, or we'll need to look at moderating your posts.

A game at Livingston on that monstrosity of a pitch? A draw will do for me. Obviously, I'd rather have a win, but this certainly isn't a "must-win" by any account. It's a must-win game for them, not us.

The media especially has a job to do, and that job is generating clicks on their articles. Among the top keywords for sport in Scotland are Celtic and Rangers, so any news they can shoehorn those clubs into, they will. I wouldn't read too much into it. Quite literally!

Instead of "I agree with MJC..."? Yeah, probably.

I'm not that young either, but I'd also like to think we're leaving behind a solid community club for our children and their children. Football, for the most part, has become the game of the rich and wealthy. Bought up by millionaires, billionaires, and oil-rich nations. With very few exceptions, that is all that football fans of a certain age know. They buy their overpriced English Premiership jersey of choice, pay to have their favourite multi-millionaire mercenary's name added to the back of it, and watch their team on their large 4K telly in surround sound. Motherwell and clubs like us are different. When I go to a game with a young family member, their heroes can be accosted outside Fir Park for a photo, autograph, and a chat. Our young fans don't need to be happy with briefly seeing their favourite player walk past, head down and headphones on, behind a wall of security as they head into the stadium. Our younger generation can sit in the season ticket seat that our father or grandfather once sat in. For the most part, they can rest assured that they won't be priced out of that, to be replaced with some foreigner who's here on a "football holiday" wearing a half-and-half scarf and paying over the odds to some company that snaps up seats by the tens or hundreds to sell in packages. I like who we are as a club. I like that we employ financial responsibility and don't rely on money from elsewhere. I also like that we are very much community-based. I know that angle gets a lot of slating on here, but I like that our social media account bears the tagline that we exist to improve people's lives. If football doesn't exist to provide value and enjoyment and to improve the lives of those who follow it, then what's the point? To fill the coffers of the wealthy owners? To sell jerseys? We'd all love to win a cup, but I'd honestly much rather we had a fan-owned club that we could be proud of, and that will be there for future generations in a stadium that holds a lot of family memories than anything else. If our fanbase can only afford to support a club that ends up playing in the Championship or even lower, then so be it. I'll still be there, hoping to win the next game and pouring over the stats of our next unknown signing before writing them off and then being proved beautifully wrong as they defy the odds and come good.

It would be a no from me.