Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Courts seems to get a hard time from a lot of folk and I don't really understand why. Jumped from the Lowland League to the Premiership, took United to 4th without a particularly spectacular squad and a decent amount of youth players. 

[Gianfranco]

Papers saying it’s not Lambert.

 

I’m surprised Gary Mac hadn’t been mentioned this time round. Always seems to be linked. 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Gianfranco

[thisGRAEME]

18 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

Courts seems to get a hard time from a lot of folk and I don't really understand why. Jumped from the Lowland League to the Premiership, took United to 4th without a particularly spectacular squad and a decent amount of youth players. 

He always seems like a mad slaver, but he did the business for sure.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

8 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

He always seems like a mad slaver, but he did the business for sure.

Fine with me tbh. I enjoyed McGhee's press conferences (to a point.)

[rowsdower]

If courts gets an interview, our board are totally hiring him. Sounds like he will be open to influence from The Thread too. 

 

 

[capt_oats]

1 minute ago, rowsdower said:

If courts gets an interview, our board are totally hiring him. Sounds like he will be open to influence from The Thread too. 

This is something I had wondered.

Like, I know the statement said that McMahon and non-executive directors had begun the recruitment process but who's the actual interview panel?

There's a chance I'm totally making this up but I seem to remember it being mentioned re: previous hires that when we interviewed we had other (being polite) more footballing heads involved to provide some guidance.

[TxRover]

15 hours ago, Derry Alli said:

Betting tips, I pay you £2 p/w.

OnlyFans, you pay me £10 p/m. 

March is Fireman month.

Whose hose are you handling?

[Derry Alli]

25 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Whose hose are you handling?

Gunther's.

[Kapowzer]

2 hours ago, rowsdower said:

Sounds like he will be open to influence from The Thread too. 

Aye? OK ...... in the summer, we need more central defenders than strikers Thomas ..... and a left back. 3rd time is a charm.

 

I got the impression Tam pretty much was told he was being mutuallied when he did nothing to deserve it. It was almost like, look if you show up tomorrow that's nice and if you don't that's cool too. The issue for this team is I believe respect for authority is lacking and Thomas doesn't carry enough gravitas, carries an iPad Pro aye, but not walk into a room and "hawl you lot, pipe down and listen".

It would be different if he was here as a number two and got promoted into the role, but off the bat ..... tricky one as I think there's too many in that squad that reek of "who the f**k you talking to?"

Is it just me that envisages Kev lying on the physio bench in nothing but a towel during every team talk getting a manicure from Aldo?

['WellDel]

48 minutes ago, Kapowzer said:

Is it just me that envisages Kev lying on the physio bench in nothing but a towel during every team talk getting a manicure from Aldo?

This is a huge part of the problem, distinctly average players with ideas above their station and delusions of grandeur.

Van Veen has his 'Budget Bergkamp' handle by virtue of being a poor man's imitation of the real thing. 

Kelly may delusionally see himself as a future Scotland keeper.

Steven O'Donnell classes himself as a competent professional footballer. 

Goss, in his own head, is still living off being a Man Utd 'starlet'., despite being no more than a distinctly average player with a shitebaggy disposition. 

We need someone who can get these inflated ego's in check and the team playing as a unit. We're currently rudderless and drifting hopelessly towards the trap door. Whether any of these arseholes intend being here beyond the seasons end or not, we need someone to garner some form of spirit and togetherness that might just give us a fighting chance of preserving our top flight status. I'm rapidly losing hope that even Mourinho or Guardiola could save us though.

[Handsome_Devil]

Agree on Courts, I'd have been fine with him last summer or even next summer, I'm not convinced he's got what it takes to be thrown into this situation.

Disappointing though not entirely surprising Lambert not interested. I don't think he'll get an amazing job after a couple of struggles and two years away but he'll be offered some sun somewhere at least.

[RandomGuy.]

Not hard to see who the Motherwell da's are.

About 2 posts away from demanding Neil Lennons hired so he can "kick fuk out the fairy boys in this squad".

Tam Courts took a team to 4th in this division last season and folk are turning their nose up at him because they're projecting that a young coach who talks about stats cant motivate a squad. I'd suggest youd be better with someone like him coming in and showing players how hes identified weaknesses and how he hopes to improve it, than some raging former player calling everyone shite, telling them to play better, and leaving it at that.

[eliphas]

9 hours ago, thisGRAEME said:

He always seems like a mad slaver, but he did the business for sure.

Aye, any time I seen him he came across like a bell end. Nothing to with coaching, stats etc or anything like that. Just seemed like a fanny.

[Gallus Numpty]

If clubs ruled out employing anyone who seemed like a fanny, they'd have about five players each and a couple of managers between the lot of them.

[Swello]

It's been a year since Alexander lost (and never re-found) the plot and since then, there has never been a feeling that anything has been in any way methodical and under control (which in the first part of GA's tenure was the case TBF). I don't know who I want as manager but I would settle for some boring competence at this point. 

If Tam Parks actually had a plan to improve some of our players and have the team playing in a vaguely coherent shape, I couldn't care less that his interviews read like something that ChatGPT would create when asked to combine Pro License speak with middle management PowerPoint. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Swello

[Desp]

Tam Courts ffs!

 

[welldaft]

1 hour ago, RandomGuy. said:

Not hard to see who the Motherwell da's are.

About 2 posts away from demanding Neil Lennons hired so he can "kick fuk out the fairy boys in this squad".

Tam Courts took a team to 4th in this division last season and folk are turning their nose up at him because they're projecting that a young coach who talks about stats cant motivate a squad. I'd suggest youd be better with someone like him coming in and showing players how hes identified weaknesses and how he hopes to improve it, than some raging former player calling everyone shite, telling them to play better, and leaving it at that.

Is it too much to ask to have both……

It is a strange situation that I desperately want us to win this midweek (and any game obv), but also kinda concerned if we do the momentum for Kettlewell starts to build. 

Imagine we beat St Mirren and draw with Hearts for example. Fanciful I know. But suddenly you can see the board saying the solution is right in front of our eyes and we don’t have to go through a laborious selection process. Nothing against Kettlewell but that does worry me. If he somehow was the solution fine. But I suspect any short term bounce would soon give way to our normal mediocrity.

I still think if we can we get someone in till the end of the season and take it from there. Might not be practical but after sacking 2 managers it may be prudent to wait until we know what league we will be in before hiring another permanent Manager.

And finally as for Kelly saying that he and the players have let the Manager down. What is he supposed to say. But that talk does my head in. The players have let the Managers and fans down for weeks and don’t seem to give a flying f*ck. Soundbites mean nothing without actually backing it up which they seem incapable of. 

 

[one m in Motherwell]

I think this is the crux of it.  If we had emptied Alexander when we should have (i.e. at the end of that season), then a 'project' manager like Courts might have been an option.  Just now though we need someone who can hit the ground running and get the shambles we've seen recently pulled together into some approximation of a football team. 

To do that absolutely doesn't require the Lennon-esque spit-soaked screaming but it does need someone who has been around a management environment enough to know what works, and when.

Whether we can find that is of course up for debate, although it'll be interesting to see if there is any 'bounce' over the next couple of games with someone else picking the side, if the earlier chat was to be believed.

[eliphas]

1 hour ago, Gallus Numpty said:

If clubs ruled out employing anyone who seemed like a fanny, they'd have about five players each and a couple of managers between the lot of them.

That would be a goog laugh.

[Handsome_Devil]

2 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:

Not hard to see who the Motherwell da's are.

About 2 posts away from demanding Neil Lennons hired so he can "kick fuk out the fairy boys in this squad".

Tam Courts took a team to 4th in this division last season and folk are turning their nose up at him because they're projecting that a young coach who talks about stats cant motivate a squad. I'd suggest youd be better with someone like him coming in and showing players how hes identified weaknesses and how he hopes to improve it, than some raging former player calling everyone shite, telling them to play better, and leaving it at that.

Courts' only experience of a relegation battle was a pub league a decade ago and in the only position he's ever held not knowing the players/club in advance he lasted about 20 minutes.

It's perfectly reasonable to have concerns about him given his CV in relation to our circumstances.

As it happens if Lambert not available my first choice would be Levein to the end of the season with Courts/Ross/Goodwin from summer.

The fixture list is giving United and County a great shot at points in the next weeks while we have our six-pointers at Killie and Dingwall then a likely blank fortnight v Rangers and Hibs. If we appoint someone with a great three year plan we'll be starting that in the Championship unless their three week impact equally strong.