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Steelboy gets a raw deal on here imo, he calls it as he sees it and actually talks a lot of sense. Outwith my own his posts are the ones I enjoy reading the most.

I think Slattery is a very capable player, and when fit and on his game, he is very effective. My main concern with Slattery is his obsession with looking for soft fouls by going to ground far too easily. His game would Improve immensely if he'd stay on his feet whenever he can. I'm happy to retain his services at the club, but I hope that when he does get back that it is the player that we saw early last season and not the shadow of himself that he can became.

Perhaps Growth could be better described as halting a decline rather than trying to achieve levels that put the Club at risk. Growing back to where we ranked only a few years ago perhaps? Direct question David as I am genuinely interested. Overall, do you think the Club has been in decline in recent times.....on and off the pitch? Compared to say 10, 5 and 3 years ago. Motherwell specifically and not Scottish football in general. If you do, how do you see us rectifying matters or should we just continue as is, and accept whatever outcome that delivers? I think we must be proactive. I do believe that is the dilemma the Board have. And although I have doubts about some Board members, I think on the whole they are genuine in trying to find a solution. As we all are I guess.

Good news. SOD and Slattery are two I definitely wanted to stay.

My view of the ‘status quo’ is we carry on as we are, continue to be outbid on Premiership level players by our peers, and soon enough we’ll find ourselves struggling to keep pace with those peers. That scenario will likely lead to an annual struggle to stay in the Premiership and with little much else to play for. Another point is that everything else in the world is so much more expensive now, and the only way to absorb that cost, let alone keep pace, is to seek more financial input/output than the ‘status quo’. That could be through external investment or the Well Society pulling its socks up. Otherwise, I think we’ll play ourselves into the Championship in a few years.

Well, ten years ago, we had just finished 2nd during that weird time there was no Rangers, but we were heading into a season that would see us finish 11th and survive a play-off to avoid relegation, which highlights the unpredictable nature of Scottish football. We had just signed Dan Twardzik, Josh Law, Lionel Ainsworth, Scott McDonald, Nathan Thomas and a returning Stephen Pearson all on free transfers. Our average home league attendance was 4,176. Five years ago, we were heading into a season where we'd finish third, but we had just come off a season where we finished 8th, which is a role reversal of the situation five years previously. Notable signings include Declan Gallagher, Liam polworth, Casper Sloth, Christian Ilic, and later in the season we signed Bevis Mugabi and Tony Watt. We also sold James Scott for a decent profit. Our average home league attendance was 5,246. Three years ago, we were heading into Graham Alexander's first full season and would finish 5th after coming off a season where we finished 8th. Notable signings include Kevin Van Veen, Kaiyne Woolery, Liam Kelly, Sean Goss, and Sol Johansen. We lost Tony Watt in January. Our average home league attendance was 5,142. I throw all of that information into this reply because it would help suggest that we haven't really declined all that much. Ten years ago, we had a great season followed by a shit season where we survived by the skin of our playoff teeth. Five years ago, we were just off a really good season and would have a decidedly ordinary season the next year. Alexander took us to 5th, which was great, but he wasn't the manager we wanted, and almost everyone wanted him out. Over that ten-year period, we've signed some right shite, and we've unearthed a few gems. We've lost good players for nothing and gotten good fees for some of them. I'd have to say that I don't think we've declined, really. We've done what we always do, which is bounce around the top to middle half of the bottom six, with the occasional foray into the top six itself. You're right about us being proactive. But I don't think money is the answer to that. There is a lot that can be cleaned up and changed about how we spend the money we currently get. I believe that is more important than hoping some American Netflix guy is going to come in and solve all our problems. Again, if some investor can come in and tell us as a majority ownership group of this club exactly how they plan to invest money into a Scottish football club and make a return on that investment that not only benefits them but also the club, I'd be extremely interested to hear how that can be done. As will virtually every other Scottish football club outside the two Glasgow clubs.

The outside party involvement will depend on a few points though, won't it? For example, will they want majority control? Or, will they be happy to put their money into an entity yet have no overall say on club decisions? It's also worth asking exactly what 'growing the club' actually means? Scottish football is such that there's a definitive ceiling for any club not called Celtic or Rangers. So, what is growth? Top six finishes? We already manage that on occasion, and we've seen clubs who have thrown a lot more money around than us not manage to nail down top six as a given every season.

I asked him that but he doesn't know. He knows someone who knows SOD v well and just said that he had signed on again.

Hope he signs twice.

That's sod signed on (just passing on a rumour courtesy of my brother). 🤣

Aye u think yer comedian . lol

He's been injured for a while and I suspect he has been "trying his hand' at coaching and shown enough to get a coaching role. Maybe he's the one who has progressed Theo Bair and that's why he has been given the role but I don't expect that some posters will accept that as a possibility.

Aye, he's past it.

St Mirren in the league cup for 50 odd minutes in the 3-5-2. After that they did 6 games together in the current system of 4 midfielders.

Thats it in a nutshell. Good post. The football world moves on but we don't.

Yeah. His midfield dream team clearly.

Honestly thought Slattery would be away. Offering him a contract is probably the 'right thing to do' with him recovering from injury. Has he actually earned a new contract? I'm not sure to be honest, he's undoubtedly a talented player but he goes through lengthy spells of being anonymous or underwhelming.

Anyway.. Need to give a big shout out to the ticket office who were really helpful to me today just after I got the news that my ankle needs operated on. Anyway. Season ticket renewed.

Happy with Nicholson also. With a full pre season then I think will be a good asset next season. For those not happy can I ask who do you want us to sign because as far as I can see every player we sign is written off?. We all remember the outrage when Bair signed and that hasn't turned out too bad. Give the lads a chance

You talk some absolute pish.

Quite often it is the journeyman/unspectacular career players that make the best coaches, from Fergie to Madden to Belichick

Absolutely the right thing to do. He's very talented in my view.