David

Also, the mention of Taylor Swift was a great touch. She's been all over the media at the moment, both because of her new love interest in the NFL and Jo Koy making a joke about her at the Golden Globes. Even a minuscule percentage of the current Taylor Swift internet traffic mentioning some mid-level "soccer" club from Scotland having a wee boy make a funny remark about her in a video ad will be more interest than we normally see on any other videos we put out there. I just hope the media team have tagged Swift in the video keywords on YouTube. I imagine they will have.

The first thing I'd say is that it would be worth looking at what kind of advertising we all see daily. Think about the amount of stuff on television during the ad breaks that we think "bloody hell, that's ridiculous" only to then be humming the daft tune from it while messing about the house, or mentioning it in conversation later. Unless you're a top-level brand like Nike, Adidas or Apple you really can't take yourself too seriously in any ad campaigns. That's the first thing I'd be telling the club if I was working on that project. The kind of ad we put out has a good chance of working on a few levels: Relatability: We're using a self-deprecating type of humour to acknowledge the challenges or stereotypes associated with mid-sized clubs in the football world. By doing so, we hope to become more relatable to potential small investors who appreciate the club's humility and authenticity. Memorability: Using humour in advertisements can make campaigns more memorable. Creating funny and memorable content, especially if it involves self-deprecating elements, could increase the likelihood of the target audience remembering and sharing the content. Differentiation: Acknowledging the limitations or common perceptions of mid-sized clubs like ours can help Motherwell stand out. By humorously addressing these aspects, the club can demonstrate a unique and self-aware identity, setting itself apart from larger or more prestigious football clubs. Basically, we know what we are and what we are not. Audience Engagement: Like it or not, humorous and silly content tends to generate higher engagement on social media platforms. The club is likely looking to leverage an ad like this to create engaging content that resonates with fans (not just Motherwell fans, I may add), encouraging them to share, comment, and actively participate in the online community. Now, I know there'll be people who disagree, but that's basically how it works. And it's an approach that has been successful for many companies, which is why they use it. it's not an exact science, of course, and the ad itself will only work if the club get it right with distribution channels and then manage to provide a serious front when someone gets in touch, by way of a pitch deck or business and investment plan. The ad is only the gateway. A way to get eyeballs and attention, however that comes about doesn't really matter.

Again, if you think a club like Motherwell, where our starting eleven quality isn't all that great due to finances, can afford better than Maguire as a backup, then I'm not really sure what to tell you.

Completely discounting the second part of the statement, I agree with the first. What Kettlewell did last season doesn't really come into how we should act this season. He has a 19% win rate in the league, which isn't great, but more important for me is that we're currently on course to finish the league campaign in 9th or 10th if we continue as we are. And that's if we don't really improve at all, and finish the season with around 7 wins and 14 draws. Going by the points tallies in the past five seasons (discounting the Covid season) that should be enough to see us finish 9th or 10th. 11th spot would be outside the average, but of course is still possible if unlikely. But bear in mind, the above is based on us continuing this season as we have been. I don't know if we could get worse. I do think we could see an uptick in form, even if it's slight. A win or two above the averages mentioned will be enough to see us finish the season safe.

Exactly. When I see people saying Maguire isn't the level we want from someone coming off the bench to help us see out games, I wonder exactly what kind of player those people think is willing to come to Motherwell to play that role. Not every squad member can be or has to be, an up-and-coming player pushing for the first team. If I was Kettlewell I'd sit down with the player and make it clear to him what his role at the club will be. A bench player who starts games when we're short of first-choice midfielders, but mainly someone who can come on with 20 minutes or so to go and help us see out a game. If he's happy with that role, I'd keep him around unless he's on first 11 wages. Again, we need guys like that. He's of the standard that a player fulfilling that role at a club like ours should be. Also, if the worst happens and we end up going down he's already got a Championship winners medal in his pocket, so he'll come in handy.

Oh, we will be looking. But that doesn't mean we're getting. I'd rather have a nobody from down south that knows the club, knows the players, can fit right in and we kind of know what we're getting, than someone brand new who we'd need to hand another contract to.

Depending on who's available on the market I wouldn't be against holding onto Maguire as an option. He's not perfect by any stretch, but I'd rather have him than another nobody from down south on a six-month deal.

Anything but a defeat would be nice, continue the momentum we started this weekend hopefully.

No point in quoting him, he doesn't post when we win. He'll be back in full force if we lose to Hibs though.

Imagine if it was Moult and KvV scoring against us to get us relegated while they played for Hearts? Now, that would be something to behold, eh? Especially when the Hearts fans start singing. Hair on the back of the neck and all that. Maybe Morton fans?

This is my worry. I think the circumstances at the club in general are all wrong. In the past we've been bad, managers haven't worked out and I've always had faith we could bounce back. The club, in general, was well-run and I had faith in those who were tasked with turning things around. We don't have a full-time CEO, and there are important members of the team that run the club stepping down. Any potential manager is going to be taking the above into account. They have to.

I guess it depends if a potential candidate is desperate enough for work that he's happy to come in and basically get one transfer window to get a low-budget squad into 7th or better because that seems to be the criteria from what I've seen from our fans. Keeping us up, and even getting us into Europe isn't enough to guarantee some time in the job these days. Personally, I worry about who would follow Kettlewell. I would not be surprised at all if Frail is the next man in line.

Something that's also worth considering is that we are now in danger of gaining a reputation as a club who sacks managers on the regular if we punt Kettlewell in the next few weeks. 4 managers in 5 years doesn't make for good reading, and I can think of few clubs who carry out that kind of upheaval on a yearly basis and go on to prosper. Anyone worth their salt will look at how our board have acted the past few seasons and maybe will think they're better served staying on the sidelines and seeing what else comes up.

Is that the parameters for any manager at Motherwell now then? They get a single transfer window? And if they fail, they're gone?

What's most important is, who will replace him? Who's available in December/January that's in our budget and willing to come in? I'm not sure we'd get someone any better. In fact, I'm fairly sure we'd end up with Frail and Clarkson.

I'll keep posting as I like. You don't need to read it, or comment on it.

Feel free to move on, mate. It is an internet forum, and no one is forcing you to read anything you don't want to. God knows I usually scroll past most of your posts 😂

100% agree. We can swap out the managers constantly all we like, but until the recruitment is dealt with nothing much will change.

I have absolutely no biases in the matter, I don't even live in Scotland. All I'm saying is that for most footballers, money talks. And we see taxation being an issue in places like Italy and so forth, where players actively chose to not go there until the government implemented a law that benefited the top earners. They're actually discussing changing it again apparently, which is causing much discontent among the top clubs. But yeah, if players have a choice between Scotland and England, and they'll get taxed less in England, that's where many of them will go.

You've said before that you don't like reading big words or too many sentences. I get it. But yet, you always find the time to reply 😂

Because he's our manager. If the club have zero faith in his recruitment abilities he should have been dismissed a long time ago.

Do they? Let's say for argument's sake that such services are health, education, justice, rural affairs, housing and the environment. I'd imagine most footballers get the majority of their health needs seen to by the clubs they play for. And their families will be on private health care if they're sensible. I don't really see the likes of Liam Kelly or Stephen O'Donnell sending their kids to Clyde Valley High or their local equivalent for schooling. I'd imagine there'll be private options suggested by the club when players move to Motherwell. On housing, I don't think they'll be getting papped into council houses in Muirhouse or Craigneuk. They will use some services, but not most of them in my opinion. It'll be far from a moot point to players and their agents. Especially players coming into Scotland from outside. When a player from outside Scotland is weighing up a move and the salary is higher in England due to lesser taxation I'd imagine a fair amount of them will opt for England. Scotland already has a tough job convincing players to leave England or choose Scotland over England as it is. I know if I was a foreigner and was looking at moving to Britain, with everything else being reasonably equal (weather, language, lifestyle etc) I'd go wherever I could make the most money. Especially if I was a player who wasn't earning millions of pounds or Euros every year. It's a short career, and I'd rather that more of my salary goes into my savings account than into the pockets of the Scottish government. Basically, those players won't give a flying f*ck about what sensibly-minded Scottish people think. They're coming here to carry out their profession, earn as much money as they can, and then move on eventually.

I think the last roll of the dice for him will be the January window. If he can get a squad together that is more capable of dragging us up the table after the window closes then he should be fine. For now. His contract is up at the end of the season, and I think some real questions will need to be asked at that point.

So if he fails to avoid defeat against Rangers he's done? Good luck with that.

Normally I'd be of the mind that if things don't improve soon we should be looking to make changes, but this time I'm not thinking that way. In the past, I had reasons to think someone new could change things. I believed that the manager was either too inexperienced and in over his head, had lost the support of the players, or was misusing the squad. This time? I think none of the above. I think Kettlewell has the full support of the players. I think he's utilising the squad as best he can. I don't see how a new guy is going to come in and do anything different. Unfortunately, we just don't have a very good team this time around. I think our squad is the 11th best in the division, and our league position reflects that. The only way out of this is for the team to keep plugging away, and for the manager and coaching staff to get things right in the January window. The management team in place just now will have a far better idea of what's needed in January than a new guy coming in will, as he'll need time to assess the squad. A few decent signings in January could be enough I think.