Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[well fan for life]

27 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:

I'm not saying he was totally unprofessional by spending summer on the lash before he eventually re-signed for us but a mini pre-season won't do Casey any harm.

In the history of football this has only worked about 3 times and all of them were Scott McDonald. 

Edited December 14, 2023 by well fan for life

[capt_oats]

1 hour ago, Handsome_Devil said:

I'm not saying he was totally unprofessional by spending summer on the lash before he eventually re-signed for us but a mini pre-season won't do Casey any harm.

It also means that Blaney now knows he's guaranteed a run of games for the foreseeable since he's our only fit left sided defender.

Also...

Edited December 14, 2023 by capt_oats

[Phillips455]

No wonder he bloody talks for hours at a time.

[eliphas]

1 hour ago, capt_oats said:

It also means that Blaney now knows he's guaranteed a run of games for the foreseeable since he's our only fit left sided defender.

Also...

I get the distinct vibe from our manager, and have for a while, that he thinks he's being really savvy with a lot of these press conferences

The recent comments a couple of weeks ago about papering the walls and leaving no stones unturned was a great example of him thinking he's protecting himself for the future....then Kelly goes and parrots it after Ross County. Job done I bet he thinks.

Not a side I like of him, would love to see a little contrition...

[Gianfranco]

I hope no babies were harmed during the clubs hospital visit on the socials.

['WellDel]

1 hour ago, Gianfranco said:

I hope no babies were harmed during the clubs hospital visit on the socials.

As long as they didn't ask Kelly to hold one it will have been fine.

[Gianfranco]

19 minutes ago, 'WellDel said:

As long as they didn't ask Kelly to hold one it will have been fine.

That was the joke.

[Busta Nut]

I've not really read much here this week but just to call back to that Society email, it says what we all knew, They did f**k all about it when Flow was leaving. Panicked when this was pointed out and then put ads etc out. Failed for whatever reasons ( I think they've been generous to themselves in how they've put it) Asked Derek Weir to fill in and have done f**k all since. 

The club is a shambles. The old guard on the WS board don't like it when the rest of the board don't agree with them. There have been instances of them taking huffs at times and even this email has caused a bit of a stir. 



I'm away to bed so just to remind myself to read from page 2896

[Handsome_Devil]

Just to continue the Society bashing, I know they were probably made ages ago and just taking up space in someone's loft but sending out pointless card holders made of cheap plastic with the kids Christmas cards does not scream an organisation in touch with the zeitgeist!

[capt_oats]

Without wanting to continue the WS pile on, I had revisited the quotes attributed to McMahon when I was writing one of those big daft long posts that kind of touched on a point I think @Handsome_Devil made the other day about the same people being on both boards.

Quote

Chairman Jim McMahon said: “We ran a very robust process that started with over 70 applicants. We met last weekend to narrow that down to a final three and we spent time interviewing them over the last few days.

“All three candidates were impressive, and each brought their own positives, but Steven was the unanimous pick of the directors and Well Society board members who sat on the panel.

“He inspired us with not only his short-term plans to reshape the squad and adapt the style, but his medium to long-term vision around a fully integrated club and we felt this matched how we see the future of the club.

“We think he will bring many qualities to the job that he has demonstrated running the biggest department at the club for almost five years and it’s abundantly clear to us that he has the support and buy-in of the current squad and staff.

“We are going to have a busy few weeks and months ahead, but the board will give Steven all the support we can to be successful.”

Link

I'd never really thought of it at the time but I take it the WS board members who sat on the panel were Feeley and Dickie who are also directors of the club rather than folk like Jay and Derek?

Edited December 15, 2023 by capt_oats

[Pettigrew]

1 hour ago, capt_oats said:

Without wanting to continue the WS pile on, I had revisited the quotes attributed to McMahon when I was writing one of those big daft long posts that kind of touched on a point I think @Handsome_Devil made the other day about the same people being on both boards.

I'd never really thought of it at the time but I take it the WS board members who sat on the panel were Feeley and Dickie who are also directors of the club rather than folk like Jay and Derek?

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/useful idiot

[eliphas]

Think it's in the WS rules that the WS folk who sit on the club board are the chairs of the well society board.

So, it's on the well society board not to re-elect the co-chairs if they aren't happy.

With the recent increase in WS board members that should be more than do-able at the time it's able to do it. Or they could just moan about it and do nothing. Up to them really.

The WS board are a collective and need to act like one. 

Edited December 15, 2023 by eliphas

[Busta Nut]

On 12/12/2023 at 18:23, Handsome_Devil said:

I know you're not the only one to have said this but - in theory at least! - the Society board is the top layer, not the executive. The club board is accountable to the Society, which is represented by those elected/co-opted.

 

I may be wrong here but the Society board is looked down upon by the other boards from the way I gather it. 

1 hour ago, capt_oats said:

Without wanting to continue the WS pile on, I had revisited the quotes attributed to McMahon when I was writing one of those big daft long posts that kind of touched on a point I think @Handsome_Devil made the other day about the same people being on both boards.

I'd never really thought of it at the time but I take it the WS board members who sat on the panel were Feeley and Dickie who are also directors of the club rather than folk like Jay and Derek?

I know they were "consulted" about it but I doubt they would have been taken seriously, It's got the feel of a bowling club committee all over it, Feeley and Dickie would have been the ones making the decisions with Jim.

[capt_oats]

29 minutes ago, Busta Nut said:

I may be wrong here but the Society board is looked down upon by the other boards from the way I gather it. 

I know they were "consulted" about it but I doubt they would have been taken seriously, It's got the feel of a bowling club committee all over it, Feeley and Dickie would have been the ones making the decisions with Jim.

Aye. From way, way, way on the outside that's the impression I get.

To be clear, my post wasn't a dig at the specific people or the suggestion that had Jay and Derek been on the panel we'd have come to a better decision than giving the job to a candidate with literally no first team management or coaching experience.

It's more that the language attributed to McMahon feels a bit disingenuous if you're presenting the idea of representation or inclusion of the WS in decision making when in actuality in talking about "the directors and the Well Society board members who sat on the panel" he's talking about the same people who exist on both boards.

Edited December 15, 2023 by capt_oats

[Handsome_Devil]

22 minutes ago, Busta Nut said:

I may be wrong here but the Society board is looked down upon by the other boards from the way I gather it. 

I know they were "consulted" about it but I doubt they would have been taken seriously, It's got the feel of a bowling club committee all over it, Feeley and Dickie would have been the ones making the decisions with Jim.

I've no way of knowing but I strongly suspect in practice you're right - it's just that's not how any kind of good model for what we have should work. In theory, at least, I appreciate circumstances, resources etc don't always make this possible in practice. But in terms of accountability, the Society at large can only be consulted en masse very occasionally, we fundamentally rely on those elected to the society board holding the club board to account. You don't need to be Sir John Curtice to see that's not very likely if Society board members make up two-thirds of the club board...

Fwiw I don't necessarily think the manager appointment is a decision for the society in the ideal governance model. By all means have the Society chair/representative explain the structure on prospective candidates, so they know what they're getting themselves into, but managers last - on a good appointment - two to three years, that's the tactical/operational stuff the club board is responsible for, it's below the strategic level of the society.

[Neil86]

I'm incredibly out of touch with the well Society, what do they actually do? other than provide a bank account for x amount of people to pay x amount a month into?

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by Neil86

[joewarkfanclub]

FWIW, I dont think you should be able to sit on the Well Society  board if you are already a board member.

Its not quite a conflict of interests but the WS Board and representatives should be there to answer to and represent the interestsof Well Society members.

You cant do that impartially if you are already a decision maker on the board proper.

Albeit I do accept that our representatives from the Well Society do go on to be members of the board proper.

We need to make sure the horse comes before the cart.

Edited December 15, 2023 by joewarkfanclub

[Swello]

I guess if the "silent members" of the WS - or the majority that pay money in but basically can't be arsed to do anything active (and I'll admit to being one of them) wanted the interaction with the football club to be more hands-on or to change the individuals who are on the club board, then anything is possible.

My own view is that the period that the WS reps sit on the club board should be strictly limited to 1 or 2 years max - otherwise the club tie, the padded seats and the free steak pie boardroom dinner and whiskies every Saturday becomes an end in itself. The WS people should never be going native - they should be a strong counterpoint to the club board whenever it's necessary.

As things stand, I would doubt anyone that is running the club (and that is a totally fucking thankless task BTW) really feels that the fan ownership organisation is ultimately "the boss" - and that is likely because they are never made to feel that way.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Swello

[Busta Nut]

27 minutes ago, Swello said:

My own view is that the period that the WS reps sit on the club board should be strictly limited to 1 or 2 years max - otherwise the club tie, the padded seats and the free steak pie boardroom dinner and whiskies every Saturday becomes an end in itself.

I think this is a problem already

[Swello]

15 minutes ago, Busta Nut said:

I think this is a problem already

totally agree - which is why I think it shouldn't be allowed to get to that point in future...