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Andy P was a central figure to this forum and today marks 5 years since his passing, its ironic that the World Cup starts today. I had the pleasure of getting to Andy P well by doing the MFC Podcast with him and Andy Ross, he always found positives even during sone shit times. I would love to hear Andy P thoughts on the season just passed and his views on Jens and Co and I guarantee he would be on his way to America. 5 years passed so quick and I still think of him often. Gone but he will always be part of my thoughts.

I take it back what I said that just was the only positive for me to come from the tournament…. That news today was a positive

Not in a forward thinking footballing world. Age is nothing, the ideal is seen as a career path in nations who are way in front of our own. Ian Cathro at Hearts? Football has evolved, maybe the psyche of some fans should too. Suppose first impressions count, not sure how you conclude he hasn’t that aura about him from the clubs’ social media output. He was fairly open on not making wholesale changes so for me seemlessly transitioning hopefully building incrementally as is club board ethos which is very different to JBA arriving and having to put his stamp on things from the get go.

Del???? Oh please im delighted we don’t have a support who use the phrases “he jist gits it” “he knows whit the clubs aboot” “he’s a rangers /sellic man” …… that whole low life bigotville we are blighted by. thank god we are not these “people” the guy sounds like he wants to maintain what we have and it’s another refreshing appointment. Goan yersel Alfie

Aw well thats it settled then the man is obviously shite and totally the wrong appointment, that post must a new record for negativity concerning a new player or manager 1 hr and 37 mins after the formal announcement 🤦‍♂️

I'm surprised VAR didn't award a couple of goals to Maeda so that he would get it instead.

🤣 Of course, on reflection, Clarke's record in the finals of international tournaments does speak for itself: we are unquestionably dire 😱.

Well, I've finally finished my personal 100. A very hard and subjective task. Everyone will have different views but I took into account the number of appearances; number of goals scored (where applicable); international recognition; and trophy winners. It was especially hard to rate players I'd never seen in the flesh and those of bygone times, some of whom I hadn't heard of. I had to rely written accounts of our early players. The chances are, if I started again I'd come up with something slightly different. How do you rate someone who made many appearances for our club i.e. a stalwart such as Willie MacCallum against a brief but brilliant "shooting star" like Lennon Miller? Personal bias also came into it. Incidentally, Louis Moult came in at 101. 1 Hughie Ferguson 2 Bobby Ferrier 3 George Stevenson 4 Alan McClory 5 Willie McFadyen 6 Hugh Wales 7 Alan Craig 8 Ben Ellis 9 Willie Telfer 10 Johnny McMenemy 11 Johnny Johnman 12 Johnny Murdoch 13 John Blair 14 Andy Paton 15 Willie Redpath 16 Willie Kilmarnock 17 Archie Shaw 18 Johnny Johnston 19 Jimmy Watson 20 Archie Kelly 21 Johnny Aitkenhead 22 Joe Wark 23 Steve Kirk 24 Davie Cooper 25 Willie Rankin 26 Ian St John 27 Willie Hunter 28 Bert McCann 29 Wilson Humphries 30 Willie Pettigrew 31 Chris McCart 32 Jim Forrest 33 Bobby Graham 34 Dougie Arnott 35 Phil O'Donnell 36 Tom Boyd 37 Charlie Aitken 38 Pat Quinn 39 Andy Weir 40 Tommy Sloan 41 Ally Maxwell 42 Charlie Cox 43 Eli Just 44 Lennon Miller 45 Paul Lambert 46 Craig Paterson 47 Luc Nijholt 48 John Martis 49 James McFadden 50 Scott MacDonald 51 Tom Forsyth 52 David Turnbull 53 Steve Hammell 54 Keith Lasley 55 Stephen Craigan 56 Rab MacKinnon 57 Keith McRae 58 Darren Randolph 59 Joe McBride 60 Brian Martin 61 Martyn Corrigan 62 Colin Hampton 63 Donald Mcleod 64 John Gahagan 65 Duncan Ogilvie 66 Gary MacAllister 67 Stephen O'Donnell 68 Bobby Watson 69 Dixie Deans 70 Iain Gardiner 71 Tommy Coyne 72 KVV 73 Hugh McNeil 74 Craig Brown 75 Willie MacCallum 76 George Nicol 77 David Clarkson 78 Robert Stewart 79 Peter Millar 80 Bobby Russell 81 Willie McSeveney 82 Davie Whiteford 83 Bobby MacCallum 84 Pat Delaney 85 Stephen Pearson 86 Peter McCloy 87 Mio Krivocapic 88 Gregor Stevens 89 Graham Forbes 90 Francis McStay 91 George Robertson 92 Hutton Bremner 93 Bobby Roberts 94 Vic Davidson 95 Gordon Bremner 96 Tommy Mackenzie 97 Dick Little 98 Duncan Finlayson 99 Jackie Hunter 100 Walter Cowan

Bloody hell, the poor guys just in the door, never managed a Super Well game yet, and in a few days before the ‘aura’ is supposed to appear, he can’t have been that bad managing Rosenberg for almost 2 years at 33 so give him a chance, actions speak louder than words as they say, the board took nearly 4 weeks to appoint a manager and we have to trust that their homework got an “A” and AJ can be successful for our wee club. He’s not Jens, so at least give the poor guy even 2 games until we make any assumption!

As a Swede, I understand most Norwegian, but I still took the easy way out and had ChatGPT summarize the interview. And you're right—the comments section seems full of people who were very happy with him. Summary: Alfred Johansson explains that he feels sadness and disappointment that his time with Rosenborg has come to an end, as he greatly enjoyed his time at the club and built strong relationships with players, staff, and colleagues. At the same time, he expresses deep gratitude for his experience there and the memories that were created. Reflecting on his two and a half years at Rosenborg, Johansson highlights that the first 18 months were characterized by development, positive performances, and results moving in the right direction. The final year, however, was more challenging, with results falling short of expectations. Despite this, he remains proud of the work that was done and what the team managed to achieve during his tenure. Johansson particularly emphasizes the club's long-term development. He explains that Rosenborg had a clear strategy when he arrived and that the management and coaching staff worked purposefully to create stability. He is proud to have contributed to the development of several young talents who later moved abroad or established themselves in the first team. He also speaks warmly about the supporters, describing their backing as something he will never forget. Despite the high expectations, he experienced tremendous encouragement, passion, and support from the fans, which left a lasting impression on him. When discussing the players and club staff, Johansson becomes emotional. He thanks the players for their hard work and stresses that he could never question their commitment. He also expresses sincere gratitude to the board and club leadership for giving him the opportunity to lead Rosenborg despite his limited experience at the senior level. Furthermore, he thanks the coaching staff, administration, and all employees at the club for their support and the sense of community he experienced during his time in Trondheim. The interview concludes with Johansson wishing Rosenborg and its supporters the very best for the future. He expresses strong confidence that the club will achieve its goals and believes it is only a matter of time before Rosenborg returns to the level it aspires to reach.

Elijah is the closest I have seen to Willie Hunter of Ancell Babes fame effortlessly drifting past lead footed opponents and scoring some sensational goals. Pity Willie is no longer around to see if he agreed with the comparison. I'm sure he would have.

Agree with above. Randomly my season ticket seat was next to him. Got to know him well over the years. He would have loved the fitbaw this season. RIP my friend

Welsh was an established pro who wanted minutes to get away from Celtic, and we benefited from that. Rice is different. He chose Rangers over a pro deal at Motherwell, spent four years on the fringes, and stalled his own development. We shouldn’t be the club rebuilding a player’s career for a direct rival.

I'm not one for public sentimentality and anniversaries are for those we forget, he is sadly missed.

I think you may be supporting the wrong club mate!

Jeez, you dont half quote the bloody obvious..." fine as long as it works out" ....covering all the bases there.

Del, who has one league cup to his name as a manager. We'll see. I'm not sure what 'knowledge of our league' is worth these days. Most players & managers in the SPFL arrive from outside Scotland, and they're rarely here very long. On the downside, too many knowledgeable Scottish bosses seem stuck in the past, tactically speaking, and can't seem to shake off their defeatest attitudes when it comes to taking on the 'big' teams.

Suspect Just and the Club have bigger fish to fry than Celtic now.

Ahem a Motherwell player is joint top goalscorer at the World Cup!I think we could be loaded soon lol.

Heard from an Arbroath fan in Antalya airport last night that we're apparently in discussions with Dunfermline over Neil Lennon...

I remember we beat AGF Aarhus 1-0 in a pre-season friendly before the 1974/75 season. It was part of a 5-game pre-season tour in Germany and Denmark. We also beat St. Pauli, Hamburg and Aalborg.

So suspended punishment of a reduction of 100 tickets for Celtic which lasts until 30th June 2027 and a £2500 fine. And the same fine for us with a suspended closure of Block E for the same timescale. And five of our fans and five Celtic fans referred to the SPFL Trusts pyrotechnics awareness course. So there you have it, a slap on the wrist for Celtic and us lumped in with them to dilute the blame. That’s not to say that ‘Block E’ are blameless and indeed they gave the authorities the open goal they needed to drag us into what happened, but this non punishment for the true culprits is as predictable as it is laughable.

I've gone ahead and moved some of the World Cup chat to the World Cup thread in General Football so the Former Players thread can get back on track. A few posts around current players and players leaving us in this window have been shifted to the 2025/26 ins and outs thread.

Aye, because I genuinely believed that was how his name was spelled and wasn’t making a joke at the expense of the thick Celtic and Rangers fans.

I'm older and that went right over my head. Just like that Brazil cross when they scored did for Gunn.

Hard as it may be, we need to forget about JBA. He`s gone. A new chapter has begun.

Motherwell manager thread.

StevusClarkius of the genus shittytacticus.

We have seen on a few occasions how actual ignorance of the Scottish game and by extension the OF circus/fawning, can be beneficial.

Sounds like Kettlewell even made Frail play out of position.

Or the 3.10.....3.40....4.10....🤣🤣

By drawing his name out from one of the bowls?

Can only echo the other comments relating to Andy, one of the good guys who's opinions on Motherwell and fitba in general were always worth listening to

Dont panic .

Yes, I think we all knew this would happen but I fear the conduct of the aggressive and unruly Celtic fans in particular will only get worse, further emboldened by the feeling they can act with virtual impunity. Also, they now have the sainted Martin confirmed in charge, who clearly does not want to upset the apple-cart by calling them out for their thuggish behaviour. What's it going to take for the "authorities" to grow a pair? Do we have to have a death or two from this kind of disorder before anything is done? I still feel absolutely disgusted about the events at FP last month in particular. Askou looked livid after the game and I'm sure he was glad to be getting out of Scotland given the level of corruption and intimidation he had witnessed during the season.

In other news.....opening game of world cup .South africa no.13 surname is sithole.....thank feck Sean Connery not commentating! 🤣

Madness

One of life’s good guys. Like we have, he would’ve loved the season past and not missed a minute.

Jens wasn't appointed til 12th June last year and he had a major rebuild on his hands. I'd rather we took our time and got it right..

The choice of Fletcher over Lennon or indeed any of the others with far more first team experience is last straw for me with Clarke and his overall judgement as a manager. Fletcher may turn out to be as good or better than his dad and will have plenty of opportunities to demonstrate this in upcoming campaigns but there can’t be any serious expectation that he will play any part in this WC. Maybe Lennon wouldn’t have either but has at least been involved with squad and (unless has pissed off some senior players - doubtful) would have contributed far more to preparation and training. As it is I can realistically see Scotland finishing in last place either losing all three or a single shitfest point so perhaps Lennon is well out of it. As some others have said my enthusiasm for this WC is at an all time low.

Reached out with two fingers.

You are miles out i am afraid. Press conference set to be held there to announce Wishy as ryder cup venue in 2031 ! 🤪🤪

That a different level to “was seen at upper crust bakery” 😂

I see our resident arrogant know-it-all has made a reappearance.

Its soul destroying watching Scotland get to tournaments now and its a non event its focused on the supporters than the team I am so bored with it all I am more invested watching King Eli and New Zealand see how they fair. I have watched every team in action now and we are 100 percent in the bottom 5 for negative tactics. Sad part is it will be the same squad going into next tournament unless they retire cause Clarke will have the mindset of lets go again boys. Hanley before Welsh aye Steve you couldn't pick yer nose its job for my pals.

How is Wales a nightmare to get to, unless you are planning to walk there. From that list of opponents only the Faroe islands would be a challenge, everywhere else is a pretty straightforward flight.

I'm probably a bit older than you and was going to do a comparison with Vic Davidson.

Sorry bit of a long one but with data analytics in mind thought for a bit of interest/ fun I’d try out some prompts to find replacement manager based on JBA style I.e • Asymmetric 4‑2‑2‑2 with short, incisive passing and constant rotations. • Aggressive counter‑pressing, deliberately not contesting first balls but winning second balls. • High regain numbers — among the best in Europe for possession recovery. • Risk‑tolerant, blame‑free coaching culture that encourages bravery on the ball. • Clear game‑model documentation (his “300‑slide football bible”). These are much closer to • Norway’s Bodo/Glimt school • Denmark’s modern Superliga coaches • Sweden’s positional-play managers • Germany’s 2. Bundesliga pressing coaches so potential names which popped up are 🇳🇴 1. Gaute Helstrup (Tromsø → currently free / often linked with progressive clubs) Why he fits: • Uses a fluid, rotation-heavy 4‑3‑3 / 3‑4‑3 hybrid similar to Askou’s asymmetry. • Tromsø were one of Europe’s best small‑budget pressing teams. • Strong Bodo/Glimt influence — exactly the model Askou referenced. sportzeen.com • Excellent at developing undervalued players. Why he’s realistic: • Affordable for a Scottish Premiership club. • Comfortable working with limited budgets and selling clubs. --- 🇩🇰 2. Thomas Nørgaard (Lyngby assistant / former Fremad Amager) Why he fits: • Danish coaches share the same tactical lineage as Askou. • Nørgaard’s Fremad Amager sides played aggressive, vertical, counter‑pressing football. • Known for detailed game‑model work — similar to Askou’s “football bible”. Why he’s realistic: • Danish assistants often step into head roles abroad. • Salary expectations align with Motherwell’s structure. --- 🇸🇪 3. Andreas Brännström (formerly AIK / Mjällby) Why he fits: • One of Sweden’s most tactically flexible coaches. • Uses asymmetric buildup, overloads, and structured pressing. • Excellent at improving players technically. Why he’s realistic: • Available. • Has previously expressed interest in UK opportunities. --- 🇩🇪 4. Daniel Scherning (ex‑Arminia Bielefeld, 2. Bundesliga) Why he fits: • High‑pressing, transition‑dominant football. • Strong emphasis on automatisms and structured rotations. • Good with young squads — important for Motherwell. Why he’s realistic: • German second‑tier coaches often move abroad for stability. • Would see Scotland as a stepping stone. --- 🇳🇱 5. Rogier Meijer (NEC Nijmegen – if available) Why he fits: • Dutch positional play with aggressive pressing triggers. • Very similar to Askou’s short‑passing, rotation‑based buildup. • Strong youth development record. Why he’s realistic: • Dutch coaches are increasingly open to UK moves. • NEC’s budget is modest; not an impossible target.

One point that really gets my goat is context of what's happening around a player is completely ignored. For example with Nicholson, there's no aknowledgement that the Celtic player nudging him could result in him handling the ball and completely ignoring the fact that he must have in part used his head to project the ball 20 yards out the park. Similar with Longelo- because it hit his upper arm he's ok - what about the player pushing him into the position. Putting any MFC bias to the side what is clear that a) we don't have technology and b) we don't have professionals who understand the context. For me there's no question the game is much worse for VAR and needs binned.

I know it's all conjecture but with the reported £4.5 million for LM and if we were to sell Maswanhise, Watt and Just all for £4 million each the clubs sitting on potentially £16/£17 million quid. I'd rather keep Watt and Just but think we may keep Just for one more year and sell Watt surely with that kind of cash we could attract some decent talent. Well decent for the SPFL. Should we bite the bullet and sign Welsh? He's reportedly on £6500 a week and one more year on his contract. Give him a signing on fee to cover that years wages (£340,000) and agree a wage we can live with. Anyone think we should.