Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Luke92]

About a month ago I hadn't given up hope with Kettlewell but said we need to find some wins from Dundee, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren.

Fast forward, a month and we got a pumping in Dingwall and three draws. I am still clinging on to the hope that he can turn things around but at this point I will admit I am maybe being a bit misguided.

Regardless of what happens now, I don't think the board are going to change anything until the winter break so we just need to see what happens in the next 4 games. IMO we can't continue to be satisfied with draws, we need to pick up atleast 1 win in the next 4 games as a minimum, probably 2. The Livi game is a must win, especially with it being at home. We probably need to pick up something unexpected v Rangers or Aberdeen.

With all that being said, Saturday did piss me off a bit. I didn't think we should be booing or anything like that but the way the players/manager were acting was like they got a win rather than a draw. I don't know if it was because of the penalty 'save' but it all seemed a bit celebratory given the chances we missed. I could read it like a book on Saturday, 'conditions were difficult blah blah blah'. The game was there to be won.

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Luke92

[Handsome_Devil]

29 minutes ago, Swello said:

What would genuinely be a resigning matter for the board would be to repeat the mistake from last year and allow a damaged manager (ie - one that hasn't beaten Livi and has presided over one of our worst ever runs of form) to limp through the transfer window before binning him soon after giving the new man nothing to work with.

Say we even take four points from the next four - optimistic - before we sign some folk in January, if we do not absolutely nail the first three games back we're going to be under a tonne of pressure again. Logically you need to stick with it, to avoid a repeat of the Hammell scenario, but that's some going if it all goes wrong or players suddenly lose faith...

I appreciate every club will make an utter bollocks their managerial situation from time to time, it's inevitable - but I get a very, very strong feeling we're walking into our third such car crash in the space of 21 months.

That really would merit 'sack the board' time, if only there were folk to replace them!

Edited December 18, 2023 by Handsome_Devil

[Desp]

24 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:

That really would merit 'sack the board' time, if only there were folk to replace them!

[Quatermass]

Again, I’ve been caught out with the fixtures list. Hibs away on the 2nd. Just, incorrectly, assumed Livi was the last game before the break. No idea why it has never happened like that before. Still……the game on the 30th is the big one. If we don’t win any of the next three and he is in charge at Easter Road then it’s just some laugh.

[Allroy for Prez]

The crowd will really turn if we fail to beat Livi, especially if we lose to Aberdeen and Rangers. 

[Handsome_Devil]

3 minutes ago, Allroy for Prez said:

The crowd will really turn if we fail to beat Livi, especially if we lose to Aberdeen and Rangers. 

It'll be matches two and three for my kids, a perverse part of me hopes it's an absolute fucking misery which ends in a hail of boos and protests.

You know, separate the men (and women) from the (six-year-old) boys and (four-year-old) girls. Show them what it's all about early kind of thing.

Never did me any harm. Oh.

[Busta Nut]

[Doctor Manhattan]

1 hour ago, Handsome_Devil said:

It'll be matches two and three for my kids, a perverse part of me hopes it's an absolute fucking misery which ends in a hail of boos and protests.

You know, separate the men (and women) from the (six-year-old) boys and (four-year-old) girls. Show them what it's all about early kind of thing.

Never did me any harm. Oh.

The first game my son remembers was against Celtic at Fir Park. Lee McCulloch scored the equaliser with a header up the other end in a 1-1 draw. but the bit he remembers most vividly was that Celtic clearly had the ball over the line right in front of us shortly afterwards but it wasn't given. He still laughs about it to this day.

PS Technically he was on the hallowed turf when the cup came back to Fir Park after the '91 final, but as he would not actually be born for another few months he has no recollection of it. It was, however, the first thing I told him about within moments of the birth.

These are the memories that keep me warm in these troubled times. My poor wife, less so.

[Busta Nut]

Sounds like you dragged yer balls across the Fir Park turf in May 1991.

[Doctor Manhattan]

5 minutes ago, Busta Nut said:

Sounds like you dragged yer balls across the Fir Park turf in May 1991.

Wife was 6 months pregnant, and not best impressed at being told to get her arse over the wall and on to the pitch.

She was even less impressed when I came back several months later with a birth certificate I'd faked up at work with the names "Alistair Luc Christopher Craig Thomas Ian James Phillip David Ian Douglas Colin Stephen" 

[ropy]

5 hours ago, eliphas said:

My point has been tipped. So I'm not sure I can tip it further.

So a win against Livingston could tip things the right way up?

[thisGRAEME]

Just now, ropy said:

So a win against Livingston could tip things the right way up?

Honestly this is where I am. I don't actually think that we're miles away from things being boring and functional on a points and games basis to see ourselves to relative safety relatively quickly. 

It's easy to assume that we'll trend from draws and not losing to wins and draws, when the reality is rarely true, but I remain... hopeful.

[Handsome_Devil]

18 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:

Honestly this is where I am. I don't actually think that we're miles away from things being boring and functional on a points and games basis to see ourselves to relative safety relatively quickly. 

It's easy to assume that we'll trend from draws and not losing to wins and draws, when the reality is rarely true, but I remain... hopeful.

That's certainly fair...we currently have 16 from 18, win three out of the next seven and we're on par after 25 going into Hearts and Celtic.

Which is not good by any means but probably keeps us above absolute panic, at least for a couple of weeks.

But if you assume we don't surprise a city club, that effectively means we're looking at three wins from four v the rest - the margin for error in 'winnable' games is getting less and less.

As obvious as it is to say, our games against the other absolute dross fighting for survival are key. Do fine there and we'll probably be ok...but of that group we've currently played five, won none...

[capt_oats]

Unrelated to our current manager I see that's Grezza won 5 on the bounce with Bradford.

Currently sat on 71.5% win with 5 wins in 7 games. His trend of good starts continues apace (he didn't last long at MK Dons but he still won manager of the month when he was just in the door).

Edited December 18, 2023 by capt_oats

[boozyBJ]

Chairman and interim CEO to step down 

[Handsome_Devil]

1 minute ago, boozyBJ said:

Chairman and interim CEO to step down 

Wonder if this is the making of us or a "be careful what you wished for" moment...

Tempted to think it's a roll of the dice that needs to be made mind but we will see.

Thanks to both Jim McMahon and Derek Weir for their efforts, regardless of what some folk thought of them.

[welldaft]

8 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:

Wonder if this is the making of us or a "be careful what you wished for" moment...

Tempted to think it's a roll of the dice that needs to be made mind but we will see.

Thanks to both Jim McMahon and Derek Weir for their efforts, regardless of what some folk thought of them.

Absolutely this ^^.

Just reading some of the comments on Twitter. Good riddance etc .

It is a thankless task. Whether you think they have done a good job or not. They have put a lot of effort, energy, time and no doubt money into the club. 

Interesting comments about the final stages of a fund raising initiative. Does that suggest we have found funds or that we are laying out the strategy to get some ??

[Quatermass]

I can now see Kettlewell here for the rest of the season. Cannae be sacked if you don’t have a boss. Genius.

Although, I fully expect a Well Society member to tell him he is sacked at the Main Stand front door on the 30th. Worth a shot to be fair.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Quatermass

[Handsome_Devil]

4 minutes ago, welldaft said:

It is a thankless task. Whether you think they have done a good job or not. They have put a lot of effort, energy, time and no doubt money into the club. 

This 100%. The same folk giving them crap are probably the ones who complain loudest when we can't find top people run everything brilliantly on a voluntarily or cut-price basis.

[Handsome_Devil]

2 minutes ago, Quatermass said:

Although, I fully expect a Well Society member to tell him he is sacked at the Main Stand front door on the 30th. Worth a shot to be fair.

Maybe a raffle to get the honours of bulleting him is the new fund-raising initiative?