David

I think before we sack another manager we need to ask ourselves a few questions. 1. Are we realistically going to get someone else in before the end of the month? And by someone else, I mean an actual, proper candidate. Not Stevie Frail or David Clarkson. 2. Will another manager find himself in a position to make wholesale changes in January? Because the chances are that a new manager is going to want to change things up quite a bit, and this current squad is very much built to Kettlewell's specification, including no natural wingers, and very light on actual midfielders. 3. Is sacking yet another manager actually the answer? Is it the correct message to send out to the players, that whenever they find themselves in a situation where they underperform, they won't be held accountable? And that they'll be given a clean slate with a new manager? I think we need to take all of the above into account. For me, unless we have an outstanding candidate who is ready and willing to jump in straight away, there's no point in sacking Kettlewell. One thing we do know is that he's capable of getting something from this group of players. He did it before. Maybe he can do it again? I don't know if a fresh face for the sake of "something must be done!!!!" is the answer. EDIT: Also, I've merged the "new manager" thread with this one. I don't think it's quite right to be discussing a new manager as if it's a foregone conclusion when we still have a gaffer in the dugout.

There's every chance he might be given the January window to make things right. As incredible as that may sound to some people.

Nah, I think he'll be there. He won't play, of course, but he'll be there. Clarke is quite loyal to the players and squad that actually qualify. Kelly's been around the squad, he knows the players, the management, the processes, and all that. It could be argued that's more important than bringing someone brand new who isn't going to play either.

The Sun and The Record will just be punting the usual names. It's lazy journalism at its very best.

You're talking nonsense right there. Don't make the naive error of believing that because someone is a supporter of the club, isn't overly negative, and tries to see the positives that they're absolute morons. No one I have spoken to would want Faddy to get the job. At all. If he did get it, would they support him? Absolutely. Big difference there though.

The problem is, we've gone from having nine midfielders in the squad last season, to having five. One of which is out injured for a fairly lengthy amount of time, and another who seemingly can't buy himself a game despite being signed in the summer. Kettlewell and the recruitment team have painted themselves into a corner in that regard. We can't get more bodies in the middle of the park because we don't really have any.

This is where Kettlewell needs to prove he's got what it takes as a top level manager in Scotland, and where the players need to prove they have what it takes to turn things around. Defeat here, or even a draw depending on the performance, could be the end of the road for the manager.

Ah, okay. I just didn't know why you'd addressed a quote I made before the game where I said that a draw away to a team like Ross County isn't the worst result. By that point we'd lost, and the point was null and void.

Seeing all the usual suspects being chucked about as potential contenders for the manager's job, I have to say that I'm completely underwhelmed by most of them. It seems the approach is to copy & paste what we've done lately and continue as is. We appoint someone new, they get a bit of a bounce out of the players and we stay up, they then get the gig for the following season, and tear up the squad in the summer because they don't have the same philosophy as the previous manager, which results in players at the club who aren't being utilised properly, contracts being ended, "punts" on players being taken, and a patchwork quilt of a squad for the following season. We may or may not start quite well, but inevitably the wheels come off and we're back to square one. As boring and painful as it may be, we need to actually look at the processes that got us into the position we find ourselves in recent times. If we don't address those, we'll just keep doing the same thing over and over.

If there is a positive, it's that the club didn't listen to the shouts for Kettlewell to be given a new contract not that long ago. If we do decide to part ways, he's only contracted to the end of this season, so we're talking less than six months.

Why are you posting a reply after the game to a comment I made about us getting a draw? You on the drink or something?

It wasn't that long ago people were waxing lyrical about how good he was.

Yes, we will. A draw tonight will see us split the first two fixtures against County after our draw with them at Fir Park. In the position we're in, what we don't want to be doing is losing. That's the bare minimum. A win is preferable obviously, but drawing away to Ross County (or any of the teams around us for that matter) isn't a disaster. It's just not the results of a team pushing for top six is all.

A draw tonight, while not the result we'd like, is perfectly acceptable. It keeps County on 14 points, and keeps us in 8th. A loss, however, isn't what we want to see.

If there's one thing Kettlewell knows how to do, it's play the media game. He's obligated to speak to the media, but he's not obligated to say or do anything that could give the opposition an insight into his planning, make it look like he's panicking or losing the plot, or say anything that could upset the players and cause an issue in the dressing room. I guarantee what he says publicly and privately are two different things.

Davies hasn't held a management position in almost ten years now. I'd imagine that at least part of the reason for that is his antics in his last job. The secret filming of journalists at Forest press conferences, blanket media bans, long-serving club staff sacked without explanation, his cousin and agent joining the club in a senior role after being suspended as a solicitor, arguing with photographers during games, and a five-game touchline ban imposed for using abusive language to a match official. He's pretty much not been considered for many jobs outside the Hearts one over five years ago I think.

Fair enough. I'd go for someone like Enrico Maaßen. Done well at FC Drochtersen, SV Rodinghausen, and with Borussia Dortmund II. He fell short when given his first Bundesliga job with Augsburg and was sacked in October, so I think he'd be a realistic choice considering where he is in his career. 39 years old, winning percentages with his previous clubs of 48.28%, 64.38%, and 53.95% before Augsburg. Speaks fluent English, plays an expansive, attacking brand of football, and is well suited to working on a small budget and bringing through youth players in the German lower leagues, plus he has contacts at Dortmund which could be useful if we're looking for loan talent. He'd perhaps see us as a window to a job down south in the English Championship if he did well.

That's a difficult question to answer. How much money is he earning? What bonuses are tied to his contract? Who's available that would accept those salary and bonus terms? What aims have been set by the board? We'd need more information to answer. Unless you're meaning for those who want him out to just throw a name out there? One thing I'm fairly certain of, considering who we've hired in the past, is that there will be candidates with more experience and know-how willing to take the job. Who they are? Again, the information above will dictate that.

I'm basing my confidence in us hopefully appointing someone who has a better track record than Kettlewell. He's really done nothing in management to warrant any confidence in his abilities. Granted, he's a terrific talker and he sounds good when a camera is on him, which is why he is probably better suited to radio or Sportscene. You're right, it is a gamble. But there are levels of potential success in gambling. The way I see it, he's not going to succeed at Motherwell. The only real question is, will he be let go before he gets another transfer window? Or after it? I'd be extremely surprised if he's in the dugout at the end of the season.

I agree. Sadly, I have zero faith in our current recruitment team or manager to get it right in January. I really hope I'm wrong, but I think we're going to head into January doing what we always do. Panic buying. Some snappy dresser from the Norwegian 3rd tier.

While I give him some credit for that, he was a huge beneficiary of Van Veen hitting some mental freak form, and also it wasn't his team. Once he was given sole control and was given the chance to shape the squad how he wanted it, we've all seen the results. It was the same at Ross County. Once he got sole control and was given the transfer window to do business it all came apart.

You mean get him to play in midfield? Because he's not shown anything in management to suggest he knows about winning or defending. His record at Fleetwood is similar to Kettlewell at County.

Not being funny here, but when you say you think he can become a success at Motherwell, what are you basing that on? His record as a top-flight manager isn't good. He failed at Ross County when he got the job on his own, and once he got a transfer window at Motherwell he hasn't really done a great job here either.

I didn't actually mean that as an insult, I was being honest, it is too many words to scroll past! As I said in my previous post, I have a love for the analytics and data. I happily admit that I can drone on about it. Just be thankful you're not one of my mates in the pub! 😂

Sorry mate, too many sentences for you to scroll past?