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Losing players that are in and out the team to other teams in the league isn't really anything I'd be worried about. If we weren't struggling for results (understatement of the year there) no one would be claiming something was rotten at the club because of these moves.

I think whats worrying is that they are choosing to leave. We are either not offering them decent pay or they don't enjoy being at Fir Park. I mean losing Lamie and OHara is not the end of the world, but I would think that Motherwell would have been keen to keep them on the books, but losing them to a rival is not great. I think a few more could go in the summer. Things just don't feel right at the club just now which is worrying.

A convincing and persuasive analysis, JWFC, and I thank you for it but it only persuades me that the manager is pretty clueless and stubborn to the point of self-destruction. If the board wait until the season is over I suspect it will be too late by that time. As some older 'Well fans have said, the signs for GA are ominous when you consider the dire lack of quality of the teams he has selected to play (but not necessarily of those he has brought to the club). Those seeking consolation that we are losing narrowly but not being "pumped" could look at the side relegated in the late 60s: IIRC we lost a significant number of games then by the odd goal but were seldom humiliated. Yet the split offers another avenue to relegation by introducing head-to-head desperation games in a situation redolent of Hibs in 2014 and Dundee in The Noughties, when they narrowly missed the top six and then collapsed after the split. I see little merit in the manager's approach and organisation: a sterile long-ball philosophy, a lack of a cohesive and functioning midfield, clueless wide defenders, vulnerability in central defence and an excruciatingly long-winded and delusional analysis before and after games. Thank God we have a goalkeeper. We can also see on these pages a significant number of older ST fans who say they have had enough and I too have thought similarly. Even the year we should have gone down in The Untouchables season, we had gifted younger players and IIRC we managed to beat a good few of the top six that season: it was the head to heads below that level which got us into trouble. It will be 60 years next year since I started supporting Motherwell but then it had a wonderful philosophy of playing football at a time when wages were only modestly above the levels of a skilled worker. I know the societal problems are wider and deeper now but it seems there is no vision or imagination at the club and these problems go back further than the recent fan-ownership period. In short, we need a charismatic visionary with an encyclopaedic knowledge of tactics and the UK football market and incredible motivational powers. Does anyone think the board are aware of the task ahead and are able to tackle the problem? I do hope they have someone looking at these pages.

Might mean we don't have to suffer his shite if we end up in the same half as Hibs. Maloney's lost the plot appealing that on the basis he was trying to play the ball.

Brian Martin is better than Johansen and he's 59 now. Ojala is clearly unfit, I suspect not unusually for him. He looks a quality injury prone player...

I’m really not bothered about the players we’re losing, I don’t think it’s anything more than better offers and not being offered a new contract. I don’t think for a moment it’s got anything to do with there being a huge problem at the club.

Problem? Some would say these average players should be chased.

Didnt see the game on Saturday, so cannot comment. But lets not be kidded that the football since Xmas has been any worse than it was before. The main difference is results. Before we were winning games by fine margins. Now we are losing them by fine margins. The football was awful to watch and is still awful to watch. As far as Alexander is concerned, there is still no chance he gets sacked before the end of the season. He still has 2 games to get us top 6 and will be given the opportunity. If that doesnt happen his remit will be to ensure we get as high a finish as possible. Its not impossible if we were to finish bottom 6 that St Johnstone could reel us in. When you play all the teams around you after the split and go into it in such a poor run of form it is easy to go into freefall. He would then be demanded to win a play off. I think the only way he gets sacked is if we get relegated. My main concern is if we narrowly stay up and are subjected to more of the same next season. As a fan owned club its really important to keep our fanbase on side and the atmosphere is getting quite poisonous and that can become self fulfilling. Alexander seems very stubborn. He shows no sign of altering his philosophy. The rotation of the squad just seems to be how he likes to do things and the long ball percentage football just keeps on coming and is desperate to watch. I wouldnt be sad to see him go right now. But I wont be holding my breath. The board will have a decision to make though once the seasons over and we see where are.

I dont think O'Hara signing a pca is necessarily the issue here. My concern is if it points to a deeper malaise within the club. If average players are jumping ship at the first opportunity, we may have a problem.

I suspect that Lamie, O'Hara and Watt jumping ship IS about the cash on offer elsewhere.

I watched Dunfermline last week and they looked neat and tidy and also looked to have purpose in their build up. They'd probably take 4 off us as well

The previous comment is harsh on Shields. He is a second striker. He does not fit in with our structure. It's a bit like when we signed Vigurs who had a position he found successful at his previous club and then never playing him there. If you adopt a style - then we can't sign players who's success lies outside this. He is not a wide man.

Yes but could he play well in these positions? In my view he was energetic and ran about a lot, scoring an odd goal. Very eye-catching. However he has a poor injury record and has shown little positional sense - causing problems for others which isn't so obvious. Apparently he was one of the higher earners. I can only assume that the management didn't think he was worthy of another deal. Maybe his departure will create some space for a youngster like Dean Cornelius.

Take a moment, engage your brain, how would a random website have any idea the exact amount we are paying each individual player? Darragh O'Connor being on 2.4k a week tells you that they are indeed talking mince.

Well if our fans assume people who leave are doing so because they don't like GA we must surely apply the assumption that those who re-sign must like him ... that is how ridiculous this entire narrative is. Tait ---- wasnt getting 1st team football with us and tried to play a fast one on the club when Covid struck so they rightly let him piss off. Dunne ----- was asked to go to the summer training camp with the offer of a one year extension . St Mirren gave him a two year deal so he took that and considering his injuries with us hardly surprising we didnt take a longer punt on him and having watched him for St Mirren we didnt lose much. O'Hara ----- By all accounts one of the highest wage earners , on the field was too inconsistent and spent as much time side lined than he did playing, the club / manager might just consider his higher wage could bring a better return in the summer. Watt ---- I do think there may have been issues between him and GA but who knows. Because of the shocking efforts on the park this season every scenario is amplified to crisis level. If GA resigned tomorrow Id be delighted. The only other time I was as disillusioned with the on field efforts was under Harri Kampman. However for our fans to suggest GA has lost the dressing room has actually no basis of fact. Win the next two games (which we wont a point at best) most of this will die down. Lose our next two which is more possible than winning the two GA is in real bother as we certainly could end up in the play off dogfight.

Like others, O'Hara leaving isn't the issue I don't think. I am going full tin foil hat mode. The players don't like the boss.

Given the situation we are in, ask yourself - Who game after game instructs the full backs/wing backs to play narrow, surrender the wide areas and concentrate on defending the multitude of crosses that will inevitably come in? Who game after game instructs our defenders to hoof the ball forward in the hope the opposing centre backs cannot head the ball and we might even win the second ball? Who game after game instructs every player to come back to defend free kicks and corners, leaving no out ball should we win the ball? Even the expected hoof ball has no target in those situations. Who game after game sets us up to be outnumbered and overrun in midfield? In fairness, if you bypass midfield that might not an issue when we have the ball. Does anyone genuinely believe it is the players making those decisions? Who thought it clever to play a decent central defender but suspect tackler at wing back in an important cup tie? And then who acts amazed that one piece of poor control and attempted recovery tackle results in a red card? Who game after game leaves our most creative and/or energetic players on the bench or sitting in the stand? Who drops players to the bench that did well when starting the previous match? Who stands watching a substandard performance, chatting it over with his mate for 75 minutes before making a change? Even then any change is like for like and makes no difference to the style of play. Who is prepared to blame the players, pitch, officials, weather, bad luck for every shambolic performance rather than accepting that just perhaps a change off approach now and then might help? Who spouts the same rubbish game after miserable game, but actually says nothing? You can blame the players and the poor quality of Scottish football and our League all you like. But we are stuck with a Manager who is doing nothing to help and in many ways is hanging his players out to dry. His stubbornness, reluctance to attempt a fresh approach when his game plan is failing coupled with his perceived persecution of players who raise questions is harming our Club and turning fans off big time. Somebody said it earlier. " It is now a chore going to watch this team". It is also galling to have to accept that teams such as Livingston, Ross County and St Mirren play far more entertaining football than we do despite operating in the same marketplace and therefore being similarly hampered by the poor quality of player available and the League we have to compete in. We may well escape relegation...just... this season but if Alexander continues with his same approach then we are only heading in one direction.

That front 3 yesterday will never work neither Shields nor Efford are wingers and there’s no point trying to play someone off KVV as that not how he plays (greedy bastard) Play KVV up front on his own with 5 in midfield and have 2 of them (Tierney and Shaw) breaking their butt to join him. As for Slattery feck knows what’s going on there not the fastest but he can put his foot on the ball actually pass it to a teammate and breaks play up and win us free kicks.

Davie Cooper’s anniversary today, 27 years. RIP