capt_oats

I think there was a payment in last season's accounts covering something like £150k payment following Murphy's move to Brighton. Edit; actually maybe this was where I got that from. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13600549.Murphy_deal_leaves_Motherwell_quids_in/?ref=arc

The official line in the statement on his departure was that the club would be rewarded "both now and in the future" http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2016/08/31/johnson-signs-for-oxford/ Appleton confirmed at the time that he'd gone back to Motherwell with a "creative" package to get the deal done so you'd think there may be a few add ons in there. According to him there were payments that were "guaranteed" so there's a reasonable chance that any sell on may be in addition to those. "I had a few ideas around potentially what we might be able to do and be creative in going back with something to Motherwell...There's all sorts of things in the contract, like all contracts. There are certain bits that have to be met, but ultimately we had to get to a place where Motherwell were happy and we still think it's fantastic business for the club." http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/oxfordunited/14715643.Marvin_Johnson_impressed_with_Oxford_United_s_determination_to_do_deal/

It really depends who else is in for the job tbh. Giving the job full time to caretaker who has worked in the short term invariably unravels quite quickly, see Mike Phelan at Hull and various other instances. If it's a straight choice between someone like Valikari or Robinson then at the moment I'd stick with a known like Robinson until the end of the season and reassess in the summer however if there are other experienced candidates who fit the profile of what we're after then I'd say that one of those options would be more likely. I think Robinson's a fine, capable option in the interim and a good coach to have around but I wouldn't expect the club to just give him the job if there's an alternative applicant who is a better fit for the role.

Aye. He was captain last week as well.

Ross County 4-1 win at Fir Park. Since then we've played 16 & he's started 3 games (Dundee at Dens, Killie at Fir Park and Hearts at Fir Park playing as a 2nd striker). Edit: Of his sub appearances since; he's been on the park for less than 15 mins in 3 (2 of which were less than 5 mins), he's had more than 20 mins in 4 and been an unused sub 5 times, not in the squad once.

There are some obvious changes that could (should?) be made without it necessarily being radical. Seeing the photos the club put up yesterday with Tait and Hammell in training then I'm hopeful that we're able to avoid a repeat of last week's back 4. I was utterly terrified we'd have some sort of #wegoagain approach to team selection. Given his inconsistency I'm loathe to turn Ainsworth into some sort of saviour figure for our season but Del_Superwell's point about Cadden moving centrally appeals to me. There's nothing to suggest that Cadden would be any worse an option at RCM than Clay, in fact there's enough to suggest he'd be a better option. Samson Tait Heneghan McHugh Hammell Ainsworth Cadden Lasley Pearson McDonald Moult

Probably around this time? Went on record saying he kb'd Celtic to stay at Burnley. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/owen-coyle-celtic-offered-me-managers-1047452

Without wanting labour about McGhee, he's gone, that's that etc. As much as this may have been an accurate appraisal of his views of Laing at the time I found this comment after he'd left a pretty unnecessary dig tbh: "He looks like a centre half but he's not a centre half. He's not a great defender or header of the ball but technically he has a lot of ability at his feet and he's a great athlete." http://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/sport/football/motherwell-fc/louis-laing-s-away-to-forge-a-career-in-midfield-1-4356450

Absolutely. I just added another link in there as well. Completely agree but you can imagine how it works, team isn't performing or the manager is struggling? It's because they're playing table tennis on a Monday. It becomes an involuntary association for fans. Dare I mention Stjarnan and footgolf?

Probably off the back of stuff like this: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/bolton-skipper-kevin-davies-reveals-3345512 Referenced here as well: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1377396/Owen-Coyle-exclusive-Boltons-manager-FA-Cup-semi-final.html

That part's interesting as it's pretty much the antithesis of what the club has been trying to promote through the age groups here with Strength & Conditioning staff being brought in and our Chief Operating Officer on record talking about the desire to develop players as athletes etc. The development of Cadden in that respect over the past year is the obvious example of that put into practice. I'd imagine that as a club we'd have a clear idea of the qualities/methods we'd be looking for in a manager tbh and we'd be wanting to make sure that whoever is appointed is on the same page.

He lasted 116 games at Burnley (42.24% win), 126 at Bolton (33.33%), 23 at Wigan (30.43%), 49 at Houston Dynamo (32.65%) and 37 at Blackburn (29.73%). The last job he was in where you'd be able to say he was "successful" was Burnley, though again you probably need to factor in the situations and relative expectations at the likes of Bolton, Wigan and Blackburn. Not to mention the league they're playing in. These sort of stats whilst broadly informative don't really say that much, though clearly only lasting 37 games at a club before being emptied is hardly a ringing endorsement; McCall had 133 games at Bradford with a win % of 34.59% before he took over at Fir Park while the first time round McGhee had 139 games at Brighton with 28.78% win rate. He came in and took a side that had finished 10th the previous season to 3rd place and Europe.

Cheers for the reply. That's pretty much the impression I got from reading the Blackburn forums and I imagine it'd be echoed by Bolton and Wigan fans as well. I think it's safe to say it's a fairly sound appraisal of why it's unlikely he'll be in for a shout for another halfway decent gig in England any time soon. His reputation seems to be absolutely shot. The one thing I'd say is that I'm not sure that the expectations of managing an English Championship side are comparable to us. For the reasons I mentioned in that earlier post I'd imagine he'd get a bit of time with Motherwell and we'd find out whether it'd fall on its arse or not. I'd be lying if I said I'd followed Coyle's managerial career with any sort of attention so I've genuinely no real idea as to whether or not he's a good, bad or indifferent manager. Ultimately though, in the position we're in at the moment any candidate is going to have obvious negatives or at best question marks over their ability and very few "successful" managers in England are going to view a move from the English Championship to the Scottish Premiership as a logical career path; - Robinson: assistant at Motherwell during the play-off season, binned by Oldham while they were in the relegation places in League 1. His managerial experience amounts to 24 games. - Stubbs: managed Hibs at the point at which "Hibsing it" became a thing, didn't even make the Play-off final last season, also bulleted from Rotherham in the same league as Coyle. Did win the Scottish Cup though and made another final. - Valikari - only managerial experience is in the Finnish leagues - Davies - unemployable, paranoid maniac so on and so forth. Interesting to hear he got the Blackburn job by being willing to take the job for less than half of Warnock's salary though.

As far as Valakari goes I'd have thought that if we overlooked his application the last time to go with McGhee then I can't imagine much will have changed and the same doubts that existed then will still be there this time round. Davies seems utterly unemployable and his first stint at the club put me off going to games, suffice to say I'd hardly be keen on seeing him back. I'm not necessarily banging a drum for Coyle but I'd think as far as "fits" go then of the names being quoted he makes a certain amount of sense. He certainly ticks more boxes in a broader sense than the other names the bookies are quoting.

Coyle's odds seem pretty understandable since in terms of general optics he makes sense (overlooking the obvious unknown of whether or not he'd be successful); - experienced - connection with the club - has managed at a decent level - presumably looking to rebuild his reputation - he's enough of a name that the players would probably react, unlike the appointment of Baraclough. - as a "name" he'd presumably connect with the 30/40-something demographic the club are trying to reach again - he hasn't (as far as I'm aware) ruled out interest, equally he hasn't (as far as I'm aware) said he is interested but still... All of these make him a glaringly obvious choice, a favourite if you will, which is of course caveated by him actually being interested in the job in the first place which is something that at this moment in time, no one knows. Having a quick look on social media and Blackburn fan forums Coyle's reputation seems to have taken an absolute kicking. He seems to essentially be a joke figure down south so with the profile he currently has it's difficult to see him getting another job at a decent level in England and it's even less likely that any job he takes down there won't have him carrying the baggage of failures at Blackburn, Wigan and Bolton. Any job he took would see him introduced with that foremost in the minds of fans and he'd have to win them over. I don't think that would be the case at Motherwell. I'd imagine there would be much more goodwill towards him at Fir Park. He'd be presented as a former player, who did well & scored goals for the club who has since gone on to manage high profile clubs at a good level and whose failures can probably be mitigated, at least in part, by Bolton, Wigan & Blackburn being utter basket cases. I'd have thought given the connection with the club and coming off the back of a divisive character like McGhee in charge then an appointment like Coyle would be one that would allow the club and the majority of the support to get on the same page. Would I be right in saying he was at the club when Craigan was coming through as well? Having said all that, there's no indication that he's actually interested in the job and whichever way you slice it going from managing Blackburn in the English Championship and the associated wage to Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership is a pretty big step down (said with all due respect to our club!)

Reading Laing's comments I'm not really sure that he's said anything that's particularly controversial. Our recent results have been "diabolical"? No shit Sherlock. ICT have a better quality squad? It'd be quite a novel approach for him to go public saying his new teammates are actually worse than the team from which he'd recently been released. He'd like to finish above Motherwell? Well...duh!

Agree in principle but it's probably worth pointing out for the sake of balance that we're still the last team to win at Parkhead in the league. We beat Aberdeen and Hearts at Fir Park last season and drew with both as well. If anything it's that knowledge that made the change of outlook this season as frustrating (along with the absolute scuddings and rivals taking points off those teams this season, obviously).

Yeah, I noticed that one too. It seemed quite relevant. When it comes down to it given the circumstances and what's potentially at stake I'd be surprised if the club took the risk on Robinson if there are clearly *better* & more experienced candidates available & interested on a permanent basis.

Going by the statement they put out re: McGhee's departure along with the fact that they're (apparently) sorting thorough applications and "club sources" have indicated that they intend to name the new manager before the Aberdeen game then it suggests to me that Robinson's unlikely. Even more so since going by his press conference today he suggested he hadn't discussed with Flow or the board yet. If it was going to be Robinson I'd have thought they'd just have said on Tuesday it'd be him until the end of the season. As it is it seems like they're actively looking to bring in a new guy. I'm clearly speculating here but with the way this has panned out and the timeline being quoted I've a feeling we've had a decent idea who we wanted in before we emptied McGhee and again, if that was someone already at the club it's not really the time to be looking to invite further disruption.

In honesty I think there's already a Plan B there with the way the u20s are being developed. In truth I've been to more u20s games this season than I have first team games and I'd have thought that a Championship level Motherwell would be playing the likes of Campbell, Hastie, Turnbull, Mackin, Semple et al in the first team rather than bringing up players from the National League and chucking fees at them. His loan stint at QotS has shown that Dom Thomas is more than equipped to perform well at that level for example.

Apropos of nothing but this was the side that beat Killie on the opening day of the season; Samson Tait Heneghan McManus Hammell Cadden McHugh Clay Ainsworth McDonald Johnson Move McHugh into McManus' position bring Lasley in as a CM, Pearson for Clay and Moult for Johnson and man for man it's not any worse a side than that one IMO.

Nope, he scored in the 4-1 against Ross County.

Pearson's got an equally pointless one as well (from the same game as Bowman).

He was managing in China with this lot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meizhou_Hakka_F.C.

I'd agree with that to a point though at the same time coming back to 1-1 with 10 men against Accies showed an ability to dig in and play to get a result same with the wins in Inverness and Dingwall. Neither were particularly vintage performances but they were about grinding out, and getting, a result. It's an understatement to say that we're not a good side defensively. McFadden has picked up on it on numerous occasions pointing out that it's been individual mistakes that have been costing us goals. For me that's the crux of it. You can look back through the entire season from Samson dropping the ball against St Johnstone, Hammell passing the ball straight to Erskine against Thistle, Lasley giving the ball away on the edge of his box against Hearts at 0-0 instead of just launching it out the park, Samson, Heneghan & Tait against Aberdeen at FP, McManus against Rangers, Jules against Hearts and that's before we even get to the 7-2 & 5-1 games. The season has been an unmitigated failure defensively and the fact that it hasn't been addressed is damning. The thing about individual mistakes like these is that it's not about ability. It's about concentration, communication and simply being switched on enough to make good decisions. That is ultimately on the shoulders of the individual players concerned though by extension begs the question as to why our default tactic against the sides in the top 4 has been to sit in and try to be "difficult to break down" when it's been patently obvious all season that we are anything but "difficult to break down". If nothing else I'd hope that the new manager whoever it may be is able to view the squad with a fresh pair of eyes.