David

It's quite simple. Some people just don't like Alexander. Well, the very small part of him that they see in the media and suchlike. Obviously very few people on here actually know him as a person. But yeah, he's far too confident (interpreted as arrogant) in his own abilities to be a Motherwell manager in the eyes of some. I'm guessing that for some people how he carries himself (with a slight swagger) and the aforementioned confidence doesn't fit with the "wee club, rollercoaster etc" patter that many fans associate with Motherwell. I've also seen it said that he "looks too cool" in some fans eyes. The fact he dresses well seems to irk some people for some reason. Maybe if he wore a tracksuit that was a size too large he'd be more loved? I personally quite like him. He doesn't do much pandering, especially to the old firm. We've had managers who are basically gushing over their teams whenever we played them. Alexander doesn't do that. Criticism of his footballing style can be made for sure, it's been chronic to watch at times, but it's hard to argue with his overall results since he came in.

As much as the temptation is there for people to shout about "something needing done" the truth is, there has to be an element of personal responsibility. If someone is addicted to gambling and throws their wages away, they need to seek help. It's not on some unknown force to ban or restrict anything.

The away game is being shown live on Premier Sports here in the UK. The home fixture I don't know.

I know we won't have much chance of going through, but we don't try every year to qualify for Europe so we can get papped out by some team in Israel or Kazakhstan or wherever, do we? Surely if we're going to get eliminated we'd rather play a team that we at least recognise? Sparta Prague have a decent European calibre, having beaten Rangers and also hammered Celtic a few times. I'd rather we played teams like Dortmund, Nancy, Steaua Bucharest, Panathinaikos and Prague than some no-name outfit from a corner of the world it's near impossible to get to. Both of the sides we can get provide a fairly easy journey for fans to attend the away game, which is what it's all about. That's where the memories are made.

Players can respond and play differently in different teams though, remember. Look at Declan Gallagher with us and Aberdeen. Spittal could very well fit right into Alexander's approach and do really well here. The manager knows more about him than any of us do, he's worked with him previously. Let's wait and see him at least play in a competitive game before writing them off.

Written off two of our new players before they've even kicked a competitive ball, eh? Got to love it.

Surprised they didn't try to sign our social media team going by that effort. Zany video indeed.

I see this reaction for 99% of the signings we make, and it makes me ask, what exactly are fans expecting? Household names that we all recognise? Prolific strikers who have been banging them in the season or two before? It doesn't work that way. There has been maybe one or two signings in recent times that we've made where I haven't reacted by saying "never heard of him, let's see what he has to offer."

As has been said before, most teams had to inflate their squads last season due to potential Covid suspensions and issues. That led to a lot of players being brought in who were nothing more than emergency backup in case we were hit with a Covid run. As such, I'm looking at this window as the first time we're really seeing Alexander operating as he would have wanted to, and I'm actually glad we're not just bringing in a raft of new players, many of whom wouldn't fit the bill.

It's a catch 22 situation really. We can say that it's best for a player to stay at Motherwell and look to progress to the first team, but what if that doesn't happen for whatever reason? Injury, loss of form, simply not being good enough. The example a lot of fans use is Jake Hastie, claiming his move to Rangers wasn't a good move for him. I think his level of performance after that short purple patch for us shows he absolutely made the correct decision. If he'd stayed at Motherwell he'd likely have shown the kind of form he did when he returned, which would have seen him slide down the pecking order and eventually get released. I don't think him not signing for Rangers would have seen him suddenly become a quality player who then won a big move a few years later. As things stand, he's playing in League Two. The only difference is he's doing so with a relatively healthy bank balance from his Rangers deal, so he's come out a winner in that regard.

He's got over 1,000 posts on this forum and has never done that yet, so I wouldn't hold your breath.

I know the fans tend to believe O'Donnell is shit and nothing more than an imposter, but if we are in a position to offload a Scottish international for no fee despite him being contracted to the club until the end of May next year then the manager must have a hell of a lot of faith in Johnston. Personally, I don't rate McGinn as being better than O'Donnell, so let's hope Alexander knows what he's doing. One thing I'm fairly certain of is if we offer up O'Donnell for nothing there'll be no shortage of teams willing to jump all over that.

The window has only been open for two weeks, and we don't kick our first competitive ball for another month or so.

Maybe this means the end of the road for young Max at Motherwell? Couldn't we see O'Donnell and McGinn as our two players for that full-back position instead of one or the other backed up by Johnston?

Unless the manager doesn't rate Johnston?

What Aberdeen, Hibs, Kilmarnock or Dundee United do doesn't really matter, as we can't influence that. We'll approach the season in the same way we always do, which is to first of all avoid relegation, then when we're fairly sure that's not on the cards we'll be pushing for top six.

It's different rules down south. Found this snippet of info below:

I'm fairly sure if we find ourselves in the basement come November or December there will be questions asked.

Unfortunately, if they're under contract we can't get rid unless they agree to leave or another club wants to take them.

You're not the only one. I think both Carroll and McGinley are decent back-ups, but not what I'd call first-choice. I don't see anyone else coming through the youth setup who will be challenging them either, so I think it's one of two for next season unless we sign someone. All things considered, if we can get a decent run with a defence consisting of McGinley, Lamie, Mugabi, and O'Donnell I think we should be okay. There's absolutely room for improvement though, and I hope we see the likes of young Johnston and O'Connor pushing our regular starters all the way.

The key difference, of course, is that while the team that done Rangers in the playoffs found themselves in the actual playoffs, this current team would be sitting 6th and not caring one jot about the playoffs at all.

A lengthy post, but i have time to kill this morning... So, with the season end almost upon us, I believe below is the situation regarding players out of contract: PJ Morrison Ricki Lamie (pre-contract signed with Dundee) Victor Nirennold Liam Grimshaw Mark O'Hara (pre-contract signed with St Mirren) Liam Donnelly Liam Shaw (end of loan) Jordan Roberts Justin Amaluzor Darragh O’Connor At this stage, I'd absolutely look to retain Lamie if he's willing to stay, possibly Morrison as a backup keeper, and O'Connor purely to see if he has anything to offer. The rest could go as far as I'm concerned. Contract-wise, the rest of the squad looks something like this: Liam Kelly - May 2024 Scott Fox - May 2023 Stephen O'Donnell - May 2023 Jake Carroll - May 2023 Max Johnston - May 2023 Bevis Mugabe - May 2024 Juhani Ojala - May 2023 Nathan McGinley - May 2024 Sondre Solholm Johansen - May 2024 Barry Maguire - May 2024 Callum Slattery - May 2024 Dean Cornelius - May 2023 Ross Tierney - May 2025 Sean Goss - May 2023 Kaiyne Woolery - May 2024 Kevin van Veen - May 2023 Joe Efford - May 2023 Connor Shields - May 2024 Robbie Mahon - June 2023 I think we can all agree that the squad is pretty bloated at the moment, although that was intentional due to potential Covid suspensions and us needing cover for that. The same applied to other clubs in the league. With that said, I'd look at things this way: Goalkeeper It's pretty obvious that Kelly is going to be our number one, so that's not in doubt. I did notice that the past few games we've had young Matthew Connelly warming the bench for us, which is a good sign, but I think if we're going to renew PJ Morrison's contract there has to be some sort of progress made there. He's been at Alloa this season, and has bounced around on loan at various clubs. But he's 24 now, so he's not a kid. If we're not going to offer him a concrete position as the club number 2 behind Kelly, then let him go. For me we either go with Kelly, Morrison as a solid number 2 and Connelly being brought into the fold with a possible loan in January while Fox is there to see out his contract and assist with coaching, or we go with Kelly as number one, Morrison moving on and a combination of Connelly and Fox backing us up on the bench. Verdict - I don't think we need a new body in for this position. If Morrison moves on we can cover with Connelly and Fox for this season. Right Back A position of much contention this season. With Liam Grimshaw's contract ending we lose an option for that position, but with Max Johnston returning we gain an option as well, if the management team see him as being good enough. If we don't bring someone else in during the window we will start with O'Donnell, Johnston, and also Mugabi as options for this position. Personally, I'd go with O'Donnell if he's fit, and try to phase Johnston in occasionally and at least see what he can do in the last year of his current deal. If he isn't up to the job then we can let him move on next May. In an ideal world we'd be phasing Max in as a replacement for O'Donnell over the next few years. If O'Donnell performs this season I could see him getting another year or two extension, which would hopefully be enough to allow Johnston to come in as his eventual replacement. If he's good enough, of course. Verdict - O'Donnell, Mugabi and a returning Max Johnston should be enough to cover this position. Left Back Although not everyone's cup of tea, I think we're going with Nathan McGinley as our first choice left back next season. He signed a new deal until 2024, he's 25 years old, I think the manager likes him. Jake Carroll has another year left on his current deal, and I think he'll be the one challenging for that starting place with McGinley. I don't see much changing in this position. Verdict - I don't see any changes in this position Central Defence We go into next season with Bevis Mugabe, Juhani Ojala, and Sondre Solholm Johansen on the books at the moment. We could potentially retain the services of Darragh O’Connor and Ricki Lamie as well depending on how things go over the summer. My preferred defensive pairing would be Lamie and Mugabi. I'd keep O'Connor at the club for another year if he was open to it, as I quite liked what I saw of him. Ojala isn't working out in my opinion, and if he was agreeable I'd look to move him on. Johansen is a weird one, as he's looked okay at times but dodgy at others. He's only 26 and has another year to run, so I guess we'll see how he does this season coming. I'd go with Lamie, Mugabi, and O'Connor as my three centre-backs of choice, with Johansen in fourth and looking to prove himself, while Ojala would be a distant fifth choice if we couldn't shift him. If we can't retain Lamie then we need someone else in I think. The idea of Mugabi and any combination of Ojala and Johansen gives me the fear. We've seen that combination enough this season. If Lamie knocks us back I'd get O'Connor tied up for another year and see how he does early season alongside Mugabi, with a new signing coming in also. Verdict - If we can keep Lamie and possibly O'Connor I think we'll stick with what we have here. If Lamie goes then I think we'll need a new signing. I doubt we can shift either Ojala or Johansen before their contracts expire, but if we can that would obviously free up wages for a new player. Midfield As of now we head into the summer with Barry Maguire, Sean Goss, Callum Slattery, and Dean Cornelius on the books. I'm not as anti-Donnelly as many are here, but I wouldn't mind seeing him move on. I have a sneaky suspicion that unless St Mirren come calling he'll get offered another year with us though. O'Hara is offski, much to the delight of some. Again, I'm not all that fussed at losing him. If we go into this thinking that Donnelly is for the off, then we effectively have four midfielders in the squad. If we lose O'Hara and Donnelly we could maybe use some of the funds freed up there to bring in someone else. If Alexander is serious about utilising a smaller squad then this is a good place to implement that. Barry Maguire, Sean Goss, Callum Slattery, Dean Cornelius and a new signing would work for me. Verdict - A new midfielder coming in would be needed I think. Up Front As of now we go into the summer with Kaiyne Woolery, Kevin van Veen, Joe Efford, and Connor Shields as recognised forwards of varying positions. We also have young Robbie Mahon, who seemingly plays up top and on the right, and also Ross Tierney who's played up front for us of late, but can also drop back into an attacking midfield role as well unless i'm mistaken. Van Veen and Shields seem like the two out & out strikers on the books, while Woolery can play down the right and left, while Efford plays down the left and also through the centre. I'd let Jordan Roberts and Justin Amaluzor move on at the end of their current deals. That would free up the wages needed to sign one relatively proven striker if available. I think if we can head into the new season with Van Veen, a new striker, and Shields as options through the middle, supported by a combination of Woolery, Efford, Tierney and Mahon we'd be in decent shape. Verdict - A new striker should hopefully be on the cards to add to what we have. Overall In my opinion we'd be looking to shift at least seven, and maybe even eight players from our current first team squad (PJ Morrison, Victor Nirennold, Liam Grimshaw, Mark O'Hara, Liam Donnelly, Liam Shaw, Jordan Roberts, Justin Amaluzor), with one returning from loan (Johnston) and two potentially being re-signed (O'Connor & Lamie). I'd look to sign a new midfielder and a new striker if O'Connor and Lamie sign again, with either of them needing replaced if they leave. So that would see maybe as many as eight out, two in from loan, and two new signings (three if Lamie isn't coming back), meaning a three-man deficit from this season, which seems about right. Of course, what we'll actually do is release the seven mentioned, lose Lamie and end up signing eight new players no doubt

Having seen where Celtic usually stick the away fans in their stadium i'd be surprised if they were holding any for their own support. I don't know how they'd manage to segregate that corner of the stadium even further to be honest. I could be wrong, mind you.

Maybe. There's certainly some characters on this forum who've not been as active since the full-time whistle last night as they would have been had we lost.

You'd have to think that at least some Ross County players will be on win bonuses for games, or something to that effect? And players in the Scottish Premier League aren't paid enough outside the old firm to let such bonuses pass them by without trying to secure them.