Stuart Kettlewell discussion thread

[wellup83]

I'd be shocked if any manager were to take anything in Paisley and amazed if we take any points on Xmas eve with this squad at his disposal. Especially with the ever growing injury list. Do we ride it out and hope SK gets it right in January? Just a thought..

[twistandshout1983]

Robbo certainly won’t be doing us any favours next week and quite rightly so

Had to win against Dundee , today and now next week or I think we could see a new face in the dugout against the Buns on 24th , and a replacement during the winter shutdown

Probably end up with a Richard Foster or David Clarkson  though and no disrespect to either .  It’s the appointment we would make though if we sack Stuart Kettlewell no doubt

[smiddy]

2 minutes ago, twistandshout1983 said:

Robbo certainly won’t be doing us any favours next week and quite rightly so

Had to win against Dundee , today and now next week or I think we could see a new face in the dugout against the Buns on 24th , and a replacement during the winter shutdown

Probably end up with a Richard Foster or David Clarkson  though and no disrespect to either .  It’s the appointment we would make though if we sack Stuart Kettlewell no doubt

well if thats the choices we would be better sticking

[steelboy]

100 days since we last won. 

We won't win until we play Livi on the 30th. 120 Days Of Kettlewell. 

 

[joewarkfanclub]

10 hours ago, wellfan said:

Yes, they do, and those types are not good enough. There is a reason why elite sportspeople are a thing, but we don't appear to have many in our so-called professional outfit. 

We dont employ any elite sportspeople.

There is a reason for that too!

[El Grew]

Perhaps the silence from the  board is a sign they’re doing some research into who they’d appoint before they dismiss Kettlewell. But then again perhaps not!

[joewarkfanclub]

Im still on the fence with Kettlewell after today for a miriad of reasons.

The most important is that I really want him to succeed and see us end this cycle of ditching managers every 8 months as that in itself will eventually result in a relegation.

We cant keep spunking money on managers and allowing them to change the squad every window. We arent flush with cash and we need to spend it wisely in order to remain competitive.

If we were detatched at the bottom and/or the players had chucked it, then I would back a change immediately as relegation would be imminent in any case.

But we are not there yet.

We are still in touch with the teams above us and the players, regardless of how poorly they have been playing, repeatedly go to the end for the manager. Having a habit of digging points out of nothing from nowhere is a good habit to have.

The same players also produced some of the best football Ive seen us play since McGhees first spell as recently as 10/11 games ago.

That said, we cant ignore the run we are on and we really really need to get a win from somewhere soon.

Todays team selection, albeit somewhat enforced, was closer to what we should be looking like. We were much harder to break down and St Johnstone offered nothing until Kelly gifted them their goal. Stop doing that and you get a foundation to play from.

Davor looked more than decent today and if Gent hadnt had such a good game he would have been my MOTM. He, Gent and Spencer should definitely keep their places.

SK wasnt fired after Tuesday, so he wont be fired after today.

I think he can still turn this around. But he needs to take some ownership for the poor decisions he has made in the last few weeks and be brave in his decision making in the next few weeks if he is to make it to the transfer window.

I understand how difficult it is to drop your captain when he is a Scottish international and was a major part of your early success, but at some point you need to take the player out of the firing line before his confidence is damaged ireparably. If Oxborough is that bad then he really shouldnt be at the club.

I thought SOD actually had a decent enough game today at RCB but if he is to keep his place it shouldnt be at the expense of Spencer or Gent. Once Butcher, Casey and McGinn are fit, then they should be the ones in the conversation to pick the best 3 from 6 centrebacks.

If he does make it to the window then SK also needs to take ownership of transfers. There is clearly a huge question mark over Daws and what if any value he brings to the club. I wouldnt be trusting him in isolation if my job depended on it.

If he gets all that right, and its a huge if, he might just get thru this.

If not, he will either be gone, or we could be staring a relegation in the face.

 

[Kmcalpin]

4 hours ago, Yoshi-1991 said:

I fail to see what good sticking with him could possibly do. In all my time watching the football I've never known a manager to turn around this kind of run. Even some of our best managers in recent times couldn't fix a spiral of form that on reflection wasn't even as bad as this one. 

That's it for me. Today simply papers over the cracks. That's 1 point from the last 3 winnable games. We should have been aiming for 7. Relegation form in anyone's book. Queens Park  who are on a similarly poor run fired their manager today. It's now over to the directors. A crunch game coming on the 30th and the window opening soon. Time to act  

[bobbybingo]

39 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

That's it for me. Today simply papers over the cracks. That's 1 point from the last 3 winnable games. We should have been aiming for 7. Relegation form in anyone's book. Queens Park  who are on a similarly poor run fired their manager today. It's now over to the directors. A crunch game coming on the 30th and the window opening soon. Time to act  

Not nit picking, but it's 2 points. Might need that extra one.

As for Queen's Park, the guy was fired by the same people who appointed him 6 months ago. If we think our board are amateurs, you'd think a club with Leeann Dempster as CEO and a Director of Football who came from AZ Alkmaar and just left for Ajax would know what they were doing. 

[Kmcalpin]

20 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

Not nit picking, but it's 2 points. Might need that extra one.

No problem. I stand corrected but 2 points from 9 is still unacceptable  

[bobbybingo]

9 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

No problem. I stand corrected but 2 points from 9 is still unacceptable  

Yeah, I'm certainly not defending it and as I said elsewhere, saying we should stick with a manager who has overseen such a horrendous run seems, and may well be, ludicrous. 

The wrong decision now could well lead to relegation. But what's the wrong decision?

[Tamwell]

12 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

The wrong decision now could well lead to relegation. But what's the wrong decision?

This is where I am. It’s a right pickle.

[bobbybingo]

1 minute ago, Tamwell said:

This is where I am. It’s a right pickle.

Yeah, if the team had jacked it, you wouldn't need to think twice, but they obviously haven't. 

 

[Big Stall]

I give him a little more time, but....

Keeper needs a spell on the bench

The next few games needs to be on thid back to basics aproach. Play cunts in the right position. Nothing fancy. Keep it tight. Seemed to work today except for kelly.

[Kmcalpin]

18 minutes ago, Big Stall said:

I give him a little more time, but....

Keeper needs a spell on the bench

I agree about Kelly. 

What would be the right time though? 3 very tough games coming up. No slight on him if we lose all three. That then only leaves the crunch game with Livingston. If we part company after that, you're looking at a new manager late in the January window. Too late to do his own thing.

Can we trust SK to bring in more of his own choices next month given his summer acquisitions. 

[Tamwell]

If we lose to Livingston, it’s game over.

[Great Balls of Shire]

14 hours ago, El Grew said:

Perhaps the silence from the  board is a sign they’re doing some research into who they’d appoint before they dismiss Kettlewell. But then again perhaps not!

That definitely sheds some light on things 😂

[Great Balls of Shire]

10 hours ago, Tamwell said:

If we lose to Livingston, it’s game over.

I'd agree with that, but feel we should give the guy until then, acting in haste now could really mess us up...might not seem it but yesterday did seem more like it .

[santheman]

I'd guess the Board is probably in the same position as the fans, ie a third would punt him tomorrow, a third would give him the benefit of doubt and see how things pan out and the remaining third just don't know what to do.

[El Grew]

8 hours ago, Great Balls of Shire said:

That definitely sheds some light on things 😂

Always glad to shed some light. 😄

[Kmcalpin]

On 12/10/2023 at 1:04 AM, Tamwell said:

If we lose to Livingston, it’s game over.

Agreed. What if we lose the next 3  which isn't unlikely, and then draw with Livingston? 

[The African]

1 hour ago, Kmcalpin said:

Agreed. What if we lose the next 3  which isn't unlikely, and then draw with Livingston? 

Would that scenario constitute a run of 16 games without a win? Surviving that would border on the miraculous.

I am not personally in the camp that thinks he should already be gone, but the longer this run continues, the more difficult it becomes to justify keeping him. It almost feels like the club is just treading water until he goes which is an unfair situation for all concerned individually and collectively a recipe for disaster. We need to back him or sack him. Twiddling our thumbs and waiting for the inevitable seems the worst course of action.

[bobbybingo]

10 hours ago, The African said:

Would that scenario constitute a run of 16 games without a win? Surviving that would border on the miraculous.

I am not personally in the camp that thinks he should already be gone, but the longer this run continues, the more difficult it becomes to justify keeping him. It almost feels like the club is just treading water until he goes which is an unfair situation for all concerned individually and collectively a recipe for disaster. We need to back him or sack him. Twiddling our thumbs and waiting for the inevitable seems the worst course of action.

How would the club back him?

[The African]

47 minutes ago, bobbybingo said:

How would the club back him?

Well the traditional kiss of death is to be given a vote of confidence from the board, so maybe not that.

[bobbybingo]

2 hours ago, The African said:

Well the traditional kiss of death is to be given a vote of confidence from the board, so maybe not that.

Yeah, a vote of confidence from the board might as well be the manager's eulogy. He's still there, so I can only assume by not sacking him they're backing him, and when they no longer back him, they'll sack him. Sounds like I'm stating the obvious, but without a public statement or any insider knowledge, what else can you go on?

If he makes it to the window, I'd expect them to publicly back him with transfer funds. If they decide to pull the trigger at that point, they should be next out the door.