Popular Post Stevie Kirk Posted May 12 Popular Post Share Posted May 12 I may be in the minority but I think Kettlewell has done more than enough this year to have some credit with fair minded supporters. 1. Bair Witch Project - an astounding success. We now have a big tough serviceable striker who chucks centre half’s about like empty tracksuits. Or we bank £750k if he leaves. 2. Loan market- another success, with Biereth Spencer, Vale Nicholson and Gent in particular all making positive contributions on and off the park. Montgomery also looked good before injury. Souare was a bust but 6 out of 7 is a fantastic hit rate. 3. Deadwood cannon- another success for me as he has ruthlessly pared back a lot of the jersey fillers like Shields McGinley who have hung around the squad but weren’t good enough. Probably not a popular view but I thought Conor Wilkinson was a decent striker ( obvs not a midfielder in a million years) but when he didn’t settle up here he got him off the wage bill swiftly. 4. Player improvement- I think he has got more than a decent tune out of Spittal SOD’s Paton and Davor in addition to the bold Theo. All this with a slashed wage budget and a quite horrendous injury list. We have also been nowhere near the brown trouser section of the league and have kept the dross like St Johnstone Livingston and Ross County at arms length. I have also been largely entertained by some of our attacking football this season. Our goals reel is quite impressive. In terms of black marks you have the Obika signing ( which was destined to fail due to his injury record) 3 zip up at County , the crappy 2 nil at Livy ( Millers red card game) and the Morton horror show. Hopefully we can sort out the centre half/ goalkeeper conundrum in the summer . 25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RostokMcSpoons Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 2 hours ago, Busta Nut said: I doubt anyone would be willing to reveal their SO user name. I'm never confirming mine. Big forum found, tbh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsome_Devil Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 If we'd sacked Kettlewell on the bus back from Dingwall in December and replaced him the next morning, if that new guy had his SK's record from St Mirren away, we'd be absolutely delighted and felt more than vindicated in changing. The reverse also applies - we can feel very vindicated in keeping the faith when most of the support (me included) would have binned him. Obviously you can say SK put us there so it's fair he doesn't get full credit but that record would be: Five losses in about 20 games, to the top three and Aberdeen (and three of them were marginal). Safety guaranteed with three games to go but in practice from early March. An 'I was there' landmark win at Ibrox. The transformation of Bair into a sellable asset. The added bonus of a club (ok Spittal) goal of the season competition. So for me he's more than atoned and earned his shot at next season. However, while there's enough evidence he's a decent coach, his future depends entirely on having learned from his mistakes and having a better summer. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gianfranco Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Could see the Hibs manager getting the bullet on Wednesday if not before. Maybe they’ll be sniffing about Ketts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Self-raising Lazarus Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 3 hours ago, Busta Nut said: I doubt anyone would be willing to reveal their SO user name. I'm never confirming mine. MJC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Self-raising Lazarus Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 2 hours ago, Archie McSquackle said: Skodas or rainbow pants/vest combos? I don't quite cut the same figure as the male model and am very much a M&S boxers man so decided to pass. Missed an opportunity yesterday to be loud and proud in the away end 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesP_81 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 I'd be quite happy for us to sign Kettlewell up for as long as he wants tbh. Really don't see who we could get that could realistically "take us to the next level " while still staying within our business model. He obviously had a cracking honeymoon period with us then had a horrific run of results but as a young manager the fact he has come through that and has us back on a more settled run gives me confidence in his ability as a longer term manager. He certainly seems to have the ability to get the best from certain players and isn't slow at getting rid of players he doesn't rate. After a 5 min chat with McGinn ( did I mention we holidayed in the same place over the new year ..... ) it was clear that he has a great dressing room and the players genuinely to a man are all pulling in the same direction for him and that tbh probably made my mind up about Ketts more than anything else. For a club like ours those kind of things are the difference between us and other clubs with similar or slightly bigger budgets. I know it might not be optimistic of me to just accept some solid mid table results instead of dreaming for 3rd spot every year but I'd be very happy to go with some consistency rather than blow a very limited budget on chopping and changing managers in the hope that we get better results than our peers doing the same. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazylegsjoe_mfc Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 (edited) The X wins in Y games stat is one that's been floating about. Say you take it as 1 win in 19. Our points per game tally in that run was similar to Livingston's over the course of the season. In the 17 other games either side of it, our points per game tally is similar to Hearts. Ultimately, next week we will be sitting (the Morton cup debacle aside) with all of the boxes ticked of having a successful season. We have faced lots of obstacles, yet we are on course to finish in a similar place to last season. Ultimately the day that the league table matters most is the last one. Recruitment has for me - given the budget and players lost - been an overall success. I'd have been happier had we done this season in a more steady manner, but I'm ultimately glad we broke the cycle of binning managers on bad runs. We very rarely have a truly consistent season. Four out of the last six seasons have followed this pattern (18/19, 20/21, last, this) of disarray at Christmas ending comfortably in the bottom half. The other two have gone the other way (19/20, 21/22) where we accumulated points early doors before going on bad runs. I know we finished 3rd in 2020, but perhaps with a touch of fortune that the season ended with us on a run of 1 win in 8. Edited May 12 by crazylegsjoe_mfc 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsome_Devil Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 (edited) 19 minutes ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said: We very rarely have a truly consistent season. Four out of the last six seasons have followed this pattern (18/19, 20/21, last, this) of disarray at Christmas ending comfortably in the bottom half. The other two have gone the other way (19/20, 21/22) where we accumulated points early doors before going on bad runs. I know we finished 3rd in 2020, but perhaps with a touch of fortune that the season ended with us on a run of 1 win in 8. Ifs and maybes but I think Robinson would have stabilised things had 2020 continued, much like he did this year. I think Aberdeen would have pipped us for third but we'd hardly have complained with fourth and probably Europe. But the lack of consistency is indeed remarkable. I guess we did manage consistency in 2017/18 on paper but that had a post LC collapse and major rebuild in January without Moult. 16/17 was consistently shite, I guess, but Robinson saved us, as McGhee did in 15/16. Even 14/15, we were very solid from January under Baraclough compared to the farce before. Obviously you're then back to McCall, where there was true positive consistency, but since then it's one (being shite) in over a decade really. Edited May 12 by Handsome_Devil 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsome_Devil Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 57 minutes ago, Gianfranco said: Could see the Hibs manager getting the bullet on Wednesday if not before. Maybe they’ll be sniffing about Ketts. I think one of those things is highly likely! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 18 minutes ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said: We very rarely have a truly consistent season. Four out of the last six seasons have followed this pattern (18/19, 20/21, last, this) of disarray at Christmas ending comfortably in the bottom half. Possibly not borne out by the stats as I've never checked - but it feels like we are almost always a mess autumn into winter and then better from the turn of the year - I would call that a "normal season" for us over the years. 20 minutes ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said: The other two have gone the other way (19/20, 21/22) where we accumulated points early doors before going on bad runs Whereas - I think this is the recipe for actually making (the lower reaches of) the top 6 - it feels like Robinson has done this with St Mirren the last couple of years, arguably Dundee this season are the same thing. Getting points on the board and then reverting to the diddy club norm has worked well for us in the past... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welldaft Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Not going to repeat a lot of the comments from some very good posts above. But you can add me to the list of Kettlewell fan boys. I did waver a little towards the end of the winless run. But for all his lack of brevity I do find comfort in his overall attitude and passion for the game and Motherwell FC. We now know he did have the 2nd lowest wage budget in the top flight to work with. So being comfortably away from the bottom 2 spots with an outside chance of 7th is very good work indeed. He is unlikely to get a bigger budget to work with next season, so to keep us safe for two seasons in a row means I would be and I am pleased we are going into next season with Ketts at the helm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim McLean's Ghost Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 7 minutes ago, welldaft said: We now know he did have the 2nd lowest wage budget in the top flight to work with. So being comfortably away from the bottom 2 spots with an outside chance of 7th is very good work indeed. That is just not true, who told you that? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazylegsjoe_mfc Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 On 08/05/2024 at 23:34, capt_oats said: This is mildly interesting as part of the whole *comperitiveness* discussion. Also, our wages/income % is down considerably from previous seasons. @Jim McLean's Ghost - this post on twitter has us with the lowest on the list. I think it's implied that Livi, whose figures aren't listed, are lower. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Just now, crazylegsjoe_mfc said: @Jim McLean's Ghost - this post on twitter has us with the lowest on the list. I think it's implied that Livi, whose figures aren't listed, are lower. Before that Tweet is used to show anything one way or another I suppose I should jump in here and say that Maguire acknowledged he fucked his figures. I thought it was weird as the number he included doesn't match what's in the accounts but figured there was possibly some accounting interpretations involved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim McLean's Ghost Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Just now, crazylegsjoe_mfc said: @Jim McLean's Ghost - this post on twitter has us with the lowest on the list. I think it's implied that Livi, whose figures aren't listed, are lower. That is just wildly incorrect though because our actual filed accounts for 22/23 list our wages as over £5m. Accounts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazylegsjoe_mfc Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 5 minutes ago, capt_oats said: Before that Tweet is used to show anything one way or another I suppose I should jump in here and say that Maguire acknowledged he fucked his figures. I thought it was weird as the number he included doesn't match what's in the accounts but figured there was possibly some accounting interpretations involved. Just now, Jim McLean's Ghost said: That is just wildly incorrect though because our actual filed accounts for 22/23 list our wages as over £5m. Accounts Fair enough - I had basically read the singular column or our weekly wage without really looking at the rest, without having seen the corrections as I assume @welldaft did too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welldaft Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 2 minutes ago, Jim McLean's Ghost said: That is just wildly incorrect though because our actual filed accounts for 22/23 list our wages as over £5m. Accounts I which case sack the useless b*astard . In all seriousness I think it is accepted that the budget was cut for this season. I think I would be safe in assuming that all teams that are currently above us in the league will have a higher player wage bill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesP_81 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Last use of my "my pal Paul" card , didn't want to include it in my last post as it was already in danger of getting a bit war and peace-y. Talking to his Mrs of an evening it was clear that the McGinns are very good friends with the Spittals. I noticed after that just how often McGinn's passes went to Spittal, even if it meant getting himself into trouble just so Blair could be his out ball. Even in pre-match warmups they are right up there with the davor- Bair hookup. Just wondering how much spittal's leaving could affect Paul's decision to stay or his form if he does stay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazylegsjoe_mfc Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 1 minute ago, JamesP_81 said: Last use of my "my pal Paul" card , didn't want to include it in my last post as it was already in danger of getting a bit war and peace-y. Talking to his Mrs of an evening it was clear that the McGinns are very good friends with the Spittals. I noticed after that just how often McGinn's passes went to Spittal, even if it meant getting himself into trouble just so Blair could be his out ball. Even in pre-match warmups they are right up there with the davor- Bair hookup. Just wondering how much spittal's leaving could affect Paul's decision to stay or his form if he does stay. I think they'll have played together at Queen's Park and Partick Thistle before playing together with us. Fortunately, I don't see McGinn being a Hearts target to make it four. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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