David

And if he can prove himself capable at that level it opens up the possibility of a move further up the ladder.

I didn't say a manager would be told who was or wasn't being signed, I said that I figured a Head of Recruitment at a club like ours was supposed to identify potential players who fit within a certain remit that had been decided by the club? A remit that any manager we have in place will have been told about and agreed to before being given the job. From those identified players the manager would analyse and choose the one he wanted. Of course, if a manager had a particular player in mind, and that player also worked within the parameters of the long-term plan for the club, then they'd obviously not tell him he's not getting him. But I think that the days of managers having a Fergie-like say over who comes in and who doesn't are long gone. Most clubs don't operate like that now, and if they do, then what's the point in a head of recruitment? Just revert back to the old way of doing things where we have a few scouts who go where the manager tells them and the process consists of the manager telling the chairman who he wants to sign.

As I said, I don't think there's any chance of Alexander not being given a chance to rebuild. I don't see us sacking a manager after half a season unless he got us relegated. Could he decide to walk or not see through the rebuild of his own accord? Always a possibility.

The long haul? Possibly not. I tend not to look beyond the next season, so I'm looking to gauge his success in this summers window and next season. After that? Who knows.

I don't think there's any chance of Alexander not being given a chance to rebuild. We would never just sack a manager after half a season unless he got us relegated or decided to walk of his own accord.

I was under the impression that a Head of Recruitment at a club like ours was supposed to identify potential players who fit within a certain remit that had been decided by the club? Isn't it supposed to ensure that regardless of who the manager is we have a long-term strategy in place that provides a level of continuity? If we're just letting whoever is manager at the time dictate the recruitment then we can end up in a position where, for example, Graham Alexander brings in almost an entire squad during this summer based on his own requirements, fails badly, gets sacked, then we replace him with a new manager who says "nope, absolutely none of these players fit the system I want to play or meet my requirements. Clear out and begin again." I thought we'd followed the lead of a lot of football clubs in the modern era where we hired a manager who would be a good fit for the long-term strategy laid out by the board and Head of recruitment, rather than just ripping everything up and starting from scratch whenever we replace the manager?

Then there's no real need for a head of recruitment.

Unfortunately, it looks like that revenue stream that we've built up will be somewhat demolished by the fact that the deal offered to fans who bought season tickets this season will see many get their season tickets next season for absolutely nothing. We can hope that a fair chunk of fans will waive the opportunity for that, but we don't know for certain. The contract thing is an interesting discussion point, because there's always those who point at players who sign on a one-year deal, do very well, then move on for free. What no one really brings up though, is the number of players we sign on short-term deals, aren't good, and we're happy to let them move on at the end of the season. As much as it would be grand to have our best players tied down to long-term deals, we cannot risk having a squad full of players who didn't make the cut but who aren't going anywhere else due to lack of interest. Regarding the players we've re-signed for next season? We have to place some faith in the manager. I personally think that Mugabe has shown an improvement since the change in manager, and Stephen O'Donnell on a two-year deal is a tremendous piece of business. In all honesty I don't even "expect" survival. I go into every season with survival as the number one priority. Once we get into a position where it looks like we won't be fighting it out at the bottom of the table, my aims turn to top six, then top four, and so on. But I don't "expect" anything. In a league where the likes of Hearts, Hibs and Dundee United can go down, we're certainly not in a position to assume we're better than that.

So, as we approach the end of another season it may be worth expanding on the signings made since the OP listed the above: Devante Cole Aaron Chapman Jordan Archer Steven Lawless Sam Foley Robbie Crawford Liam Kelly Harry Smith Jordan Roberts Eddie Nolan Tyler Magloire With that said, is there anyone who thinks the time may have come for some fresh blood in the recruitment department? Or has Foyle done enough to keep his job?

Don't get me wrong, if there's teams after him he'll have a decision to make, and I doubt any team will base their entire approach on how he did against Morton in the cup.

I'm personally not sold on Carson ever coming back the same keeper he was before, and so if Kelly was open to a return I'd jump all over that. Cole has had something like ten clubs in seven years. Surely he's got to be thinking about settling somewhere for a few years, and if he's doing well here and seems to be a good fit then why not sign for another year at least? Have to believe that if he moves on he'll likely just continue bouncing around like Fleetwood and Doncaster Rovers.

To be fair, his injury had him out from when? Late January? Do we expect him to firing on all cylinders at the moment? I don't.

I think it's more a case of the Tweet being picked up by one person and then shared via fans Motherwell accounts and social media pages.

As stated above, if these claims are true then not only is the player himself treating the club and his team mates with utter contempt, but the club are a disgrace if they're constantly talking about his professionalism in the media knowing that he's acting that way behind the scenes.

You said he was refusing to play? So he's either been kidding on he was injured, or he was just flat-out being unprofessional and treating the club and his team mates with utter contempt. So what it is? And if he did "refuse to play" then what does that say about our manager, when he just said this over the past few days about Gallagher? "He will never let his standards drop and his mentality drop. He got injured for us and he couldn't get back into the team, but his attitude to training around the squad has been absolutely top notch, and that's what I expect from a professional like him." Anyone who's buying into these conspiracy theories about Gallagher aren't just accusing him of being unprofessional, they're also saying those who run our club and the manager are incompetent if they're still out there defending and praising someone who's apparently taking the piss like Gallagher is supposed to be.

You seriously think he was kidding on with his injury? Holy fuck.

How has he "wrecked his Euro chances?"

He was pretending to be injured while he held the club to ransom until they removed the trigger from his contract without telling anyone! Keep up!

That's how it goes though, isn't it? He's gone from the captain and one of our best players to a total fraud who's cheating the club by pretending he's injured and someone who's refused to play another game until we remove a top secret trigger from his deal. All based entirely on media nonsense, which has never been mentioned by the outlet since. Now certain sections of our fanbase are revelling in him not being played for Scotland, totally ignoring the fact that he's not started a game of football since January and probably isn't fit enough anyway. Oh wait, I forgot. He is fit. He's just kidding on that he isn't.

Then why hasn't the Record mentioned that the trigger stipulation has supposedly been quietly removed from his contract? That latest article they haven't even referred to the same thing they made a big deal of claiming would scupper his move to his boyhood club! The Record are at it!

it may be worth noting that the very same publication that made a big song & dance about the extension trigger only last week linked Gallagher with Aberdeen and Hearts and made absolutely zero mention of it in the article. I wonder why that is? Surely an extension trigger being removed from the player they're talking about's contract warrants a mention, no? Or maybe they're quietly forgetting that claim in the first place?

Their journalist was probably given information. By who? Fuck knows. It won't be the first time they've been wrong, and it won't be the last. Could it have come from Gallagher's agent at his request? Possibly. Could it have come from a friend or family member? Maybe. Could it have been information gleaned by the journalist from another source? Potentially. We'll likely never know. My point is that I'm not going to judge the guy on a story from the Daily Record, especially when it comes to claiming that he's a fraud and that he intentionally duped the club about an injury. That's a pretty heavy allegation, and I'm not going to make it. As I said initially, he's a Motherwell player until the end of the season. As long as he plays his part in keeping us up that'll do me. After that? He can do as he wishes.

Nah, by even acknowledging it he's just raising awareness of it and stoking the fires, because as we all know, those who have chosen to believe said story will likely not have their minds changed anyway. Best thing to do is just get the head down, get fit, play football and secure premier league safety for Motherwell. What he decides to do next season is up to him. Because he was linked with Celtic at the time, wasn't he? The fact it was Motherwell was just a side issue.

So, because he didn't make an official announcement on the ins & outs of his employment contract he's at it? Fair enough.

Well, if he's not that good then we'll be well shot of him then, eh? Win/Win all-round.