Dundee v Motherwell 19/09/2026

[Kmcalpin]

24 minutes ago, Prestwickwell said:

 Rosenborg are a huge club but didn’t really smash it there, certainly questions to be asked 

Never really thought about that, but you're right. On checking they are Norway's 2nd biggest team attendance wise and usually finish in the top 3. During his 2 full seasons there they finished 4th and 7th. 

[Prestwickwell]

9 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Never really thought about that, but you're right. On checking they are Norway's 2nd biggest team attendance wise and usually finish in the top 3. During his 2 full seasons there they finished 4th and 7th. 

He was always going to be onto a loser after jens last season….

 

taking that out account we’ve been pumped off Aberdeen, fell apart against st Mirren, been let off lightly against rangers & drew against a shit Falkirk 

 

Knocked out shockingly in the cup against stenhousemuir

 

performed really well against a 10 man united & beat a freefall Hibs 

 

Europe was a great buzz but irrelevant as ultimately we’re out 

 

had moments off looking like a proper team ( st Mirren for 30 minutes we were unbelievably good ) but nothing sustained to suggest a good season Is upon us 

[grizzlyg]

Various opinions on here whether you agree or not which of course is healthy debate but feck me!!......go on Facebook and some of the comments beggar belief.

As i have said before ( a bit like repeating jokes)  3 weeks ago we were in freiburg competing well.   We have had 2 very poor results and all of a sudden everything is pear shaped.   Buck stops with AJ as he is manager but there are a good few players that need a serious look at themselves.  

Social media probably plays a big part these days but jeez some of the teams I have witnessed over the years and were on worse runs than this.    If come end of the year we are still on a bad run then we deal with it.

However it just needs one good result to turn things round 

[Prestwickwell]

5 minutes ago, grizzlyg said:

Various opinions on here whether you agree or not which of course is healthy debate but feck me!!......go on Facebook and some of the comments beggar belief.

As i have said before ( a bit like repeating jokes)  3 weeks ago we were in freiburg competing well.   We have had 2 very poor results and all of a sudden everything is pear shaped.   Buck stops with AJ as he is manager but there are a good few players that need a serious look at themselves.  

Social media probably plays a big part these days but jeez some of the teams I have witnessed over the years and were on worse runs than this.    If come end of the year we are still on a bad run then we deal with it.

However it just needs one good result to turn things round 

We were in Freiburg because of last years team…..

 

we beat a team from the faroes & a team similar level from Finland  

 

this teams miles away from where it needs to be 

[Prestwickwell]

29 minutes ago, MJC said:

That’s exactly what I was thinking. The similarities are there…walked into a near impossible task, started off okay but the cracks starting to show and looking out of his depth.

Think for me it’s got an Aberdeen appt feel to it 

 

jimmy Thalinesque

 

like I say hopefully can turn it round but there’s something not quite right at this stage 

[joewarkfanclub]

What to say?

Its not awful. But its not great either.

We play nice enough football, but its all too slow and predictable. Nothing incisive about it at all.

My main frustration is that our rotations have disappeared and we no longer appear to have 3 options for a pass like we did last year. Lucky to have 1 at times.

Is that lack of coaching? I would hope not given that we retained the same coaching staff as last year. They should know how to communicate the gameplan to the players.

Lack of running? Could be. We certainly dont press the same. We dont win the ball back quickly and we get caught on the transition repeatedly.

Lack of understanding from the players? We havent had a lot of time on the training pitch. But guys like Said, Maswanhise, Cookie, Fadinger, Longelo, Sparrow, all know how we played last year. They know whats required.

Its all very frustrating because some of what we do looks similar, but its not the same. It doesnt have to be of course, but its not effective either.

Glad we have 3 weeks until the next game. We are gonna need it to sort this mess out.

[grizzlyg]

48 minutes ago, Prestwickwell said:

We were in Freiburg because of last years team…..

 

we beat a team from the faroes & a team similar level from Finland  

 

this teams miles away from where it needs to be 

Agree with some of it pal, we lost 5 massive players from last season. For any team that is going to be difficult to adjust.  I think we have made good signings but not clicking at moment.  Plus some of those players from last season are not performing.....Maswanhise being the main one. 

It's not great but no reason why we can't turn it round. Fingers crossed 

[Scarecrow]

Been back a few hours, had a couple of beers to mull things over. 

Yes, we are a work in progress, however the progress looks painfully slow. Our plan A is all well and good when we are in control of games (Dundee Utd). However, the not having a semblance of a plan B when things go south is starting to become a recurring theme. We could have been 4 or 5 down today and you just know that we would be playing the same way. The last 5 mins this afternoon summed that up very well, bringing on a target man and spending most of the time turning round and trying to recycle possession (rinse and repeat).

I am by no stretch of the imagination wanting the manager gone, he needs time. However, he also has to recognise that the current methods are just plain not producing results and things need to change in both the formation and personnel. 

I hope he is listening.

[Lobey_Dosser]

I wasn’t at Dundee today but I think it’s inevitable that there will be a parting of the ways within the next couple of months. He labelled himself as the continuity appointment but week by week we are getting further away from last season’s approach.

Of course, he had an incredibly tough act to follow but it shouldn’t be forgotten that few Motherwell managers will have been as well backed as Alfred in assembling a squad. Unfortunately though, this does feel similar to the Hammell experiment where he may have a philosophy in his head, but struggles to communicate and implement it. 

A niggling concern from the outset was that he reportedly fell out with senior players at Rosenborg. Choosing not to recruit any player over 25 and opting not to play SoDs despite Sparrow toiling with a bad back, suggests to me that he may not be too comfortable with having senior players around. That’s in sharp contrast to Jens who took McGinn and SoDs to new levels, and had the unused Halliday singing his praises at every opportunity.

i get that any new appointment needs time but this one isn’t going to work out. Once a manager starts floundering in the post match press conferences, as he has done since Ibrox, the writing is on the wall.

 

 

 

[Kmcalpin]

16 minutes ago, Lobey_Dosser said:

He labelled himself as the continuity appointment but week by week we are getting further away from last season’s approach.

To be honest, I'm struggling to see how this season's approach is similar to last season's. Much more reliance on long high balls, and crosses into the box. 

[grizzlyg]

I think maybe way to lighten the mood is i took a 2 week sabbatical away from the forum,  the joy would make everyone forget about the last 2 results 🤪🤪🤪

[stv]

The other teams in Scotland have well sussed us now forcing us to play across , not forward . We seem happy to do it and the manager is not modifying our game enough to counteract that . Seem a bit leaderless on the park aswell. We are not direct enough in the box and too slow in crossing it into the box. Trying to keep passing our way into a packed defence and penalty box  until we loose the ball suited Aberdeen and Dundee perfectly. Our goal came from an early cross in but we never persisted with them.Only when Thor came on did we actually cause problems in their box in the second half. Too late by then.

Hopefully manager will be working on plan Bs for the next three weeks.

[ppower]

5 hours ago, MJC said:

That’s exactly what I was thinking. The similarities are there…walked into a near impossible task, started off okay but the cracks starting to show and looking out of his depth.

Ffs, what game he was watching. They hit the post twice. Paulsen had to make two great saves. It could have been 5. 

It is becoming increasingly difficult to hear the same message about process, development, training drills and a new squad after every defeat. 

This guy is a walking text book. With each passing game he is being found out. Sacked from Rosenberg when it went tits up. Rosenberg statement

"The results have not been achieved over time. We have been patient and we have let it work, but when the results have not come, the board has unanimously decided that the club and Alfred will go their separate ways at this time" said Gotaas Johnsen during the press conference.

Look for him and Motherwell going their separate ways very soon. Out of his depth.

[Wellsince1976]

11 hours ago, Prestwickwell said:

He was always going to be onto a loser after jens last season….

 

taking that out account we’ve been pumped off Aberdeen, fell apart against st Mirren, been let off lightly against rangers & drew against a shit Falkirk 

 

Knocked out shockingly in the cup against stenhousemuir

 

performed really well against a 10 man united & beat a freefall Hibs 

 

Europe was a great buzz but irrelevant as ultimately we’re out 

 

had moments off looking like a proper team ( st Mirren for 30 minutes we were unbelievably good ) but nothing sustained to suggest a good season Is upon us 

Hibs were hardly in freefall on day 1 of the season.

[yosemite sam]

I think all the recent comments are spot on. The midfield is not in anyway like last year. Last year the midfield hunted in packs they always had at least two out balls sometimes three. This year there is not the same movement, so we end up having plenty of possession at the back and we end up with slow, slow, slow build up. The opposition have time to funnel back and then we try a risky pass and loose the ball, or we try a long ball to our midgets up front.

There doesn't seem the same intensity, really worrying.

[FirParkCornerExile]

2 hours ago, yosemite sam said:

I think all the recent comments are spot on. The midfield is not in anyway like last year. Last year the midfield hunted in packs they always had at least two out balls sometimes three. This year there is not the same movement, so we end up having plenty of possession at the back and we end up with slow, slow, slow build up. The opposition have time to funnel back and then we try a risky pass and loose the ball, or we try a long ball to our midgets up front.

There doesn't seem the same intensity, really worrying.

Too early to be really worrying.

My big fear , and I see and feel it building already, is the fans reaction.. We have had a great upturn in home crowds crowds and home games have bee a pleasure to go to for nearly a year. Ive a feeling this reaction will grow in the stands and our crowds start to fall and those who remain are easily hostile.  This will benefit no one. 

A home win against Celtic although highly unlikely could help stem that. 

[grizzlyg]

2 hours ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

Too early to be really worrying.

My big fear , and I see and feel it building already, is the fans reaction.. We have had a great upturn in home crowds crowds and home games have bee a pleasure to go to for nearly a year. Ive a feeling this reaction will grow in the stands and our crowds start to fall and those who remain are easily hostile.  This will benefit no one. 

A home win against Celtic although highly unlikely could help stem that. 

Spot on pal

[Kmcalpin]

2 hours ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

Too early to be really worrying.

My big fear , and I see and feel it building already, is the fans reaction.. We have had a great upturn in home crowds crowds and home games have bee a pleasure to go to for nearly a year. Ive a feeling this reaction will grow in the stands and our crowds start to fall and those who remain are easily hostile.  This will benefit no one. 

A home win against Celtic although highly unlikely could help stem that. 

Yes, thats my fear too. If fans see a measure of progress both in terms of an entertaining playing style and results they'll stick with us. If they are more in line with last Tuesday and yesterday they'll drift away. Thats football though. 

[Great Balls of Shire]

22 hours ago, Prestwickwell said:

He was always going to be onto a loser after jens last season….

 

taking that out account we’ve been pumped off Aberdeen, fell apart against st Mirren, been let off lightly against rangers & drew against a shit Falkirk 

 

Knocked out shockingly in the cup against stenhousemuir

 

performed really well against a 10 man united & beat a freefall Hibs 

 

Europe was a great buzz but irrelevant as ultimately we’re out 

 

had moments off looking like a proper team ( st Mirren for 30 minutes we were unbelievably good ) but nothing sustained to suggest a good season Is upon us 

Europe wasnt irrelevant,  made about 1 Million, nobody ever thought we were going to win it.

[Great Balls of Shire]

16 hours ago, ppower said:

Ffs, what game he was watching. They hit the post twice. Paulsen had to make two great saves. It could have been 5. 

It is becoming increasingly difficult to hear the same message about process, development, training drills and a new squad after every defeat. 

This guy is a walking text book. With each passing game he is being found out. Sacked from Rosenberg when it went tits up. Rosenberg statement

"The results have not been achieved over time. We have been patient and we have let it work, but when the results have not come, the board has unanimously decided that the club and Alfred will go their separate ways at this time" said Gotaas Johnsen during the press conference.

Look for him and Motherwell going their separate ways very soon. Out of his depth.

Were Rosenborg not in financial difficulty and had to sell a lot of players?

Think crisis time is a bit off yet.

[FirParkCornerExile]

36 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

Yes, thats my fear too. If fans see a measure of progress both in terms of an entertaining playing style and results they'll stick with us. If they are more in line with last Tuesday and yesterday they'll drift away. Thats football though. 

we weren't as bad as everyone makes out yesterday, we were alot worse against Aberdeen

[Prestwickwell]

51 minutes ago, Great Balls of Shire said:

Europe wasnt irrelevant,  made about 1 Million, nobody ever thought we were going to win it.

Different for everyone I suppose 

 

good experience but to me it’s only a success if u make the league stage ( we were up against it with the draw )

 

Come the end of the season it’ll be looked upon fondly, but ultimately league position & cup runs for me will determine if it was a good season 

 

get people have different expectations though 

[FirParkCornerExile]

8 minutes ago, Prestwickwell said:

Different for everyone I suppose 

 

good experience but to me it’s only a success if u make the league stage ( we were up against it with the draw )

 

Come the end of the season it’ll be looked upon fondly, but ultimately league position & cup runs for me will determine if it was a good season 

 

get people have different expectations though 

correct , for me the League Cup was a huge error by the manager 

[grizzlyg]

53 minutes ago, FirParkCornerExile said:

correct , for me the League Cup was a huge error by the manager 

All i will say is Jens made huge errors in both cup competitions last season.

AJ had a tough call to make in league cup and it didn't work, players culpable also

[FirParkCornerExile]

20 minutes ago, grizzlyg said:

All i will say is Jens made huge errors in both cup competitions last season.

AJ had a tough call to make in league cup and it didn't work, players culpable also

It wasn't a tough call for me. His priority was different to what it would have been for me. The Domestic Cups should ALWAYS be the priority, I know others think differently.