Happy Dosser

You, MJC and dennyc have voiced feelings similar to my own on this issue. I always felt SK's over-long press conferences were aimed at keeping the press onside with him as much as giving information on our next game and we can see the media have responded accordingly. To think our fans are uniquely "the pits" is laughable when compared with other clubs, each of whom has its share of roasters but also an awful lot of fans who have valid points to express. Of course, given the much bigger size of support for the city teams in Scotland, they will have a correspondingly higher number of said roasters, but we won't expect that point to be conceded by the outraged media types since we are an easier target as a diddy team. I don't think we would be looking for a new manager at all if SK hadn't criticised the fans who travelled to Perth for daring to voice an opinion after the ignominious cup exit which many on here foretold because had we read the runes. Their understandable reaction may well have been used by him to escape from a situation which he felt was impossible. And I wouldn't worry much about the behaviour of Scottish sports journalists piling in on this issue. They have as much credibility as "journalists" in general and our politicians, all of whom make estate agents seem people of probity and rectitude. They will quickly pass on to focusing on what really matters to them, amplifying the Old Firm and using their fans as click-bait. Let's get behind the team and whoever leads them for the rest of the season, which is likely to be challenging given our situation with player quality, injuries and morale.

Possibly, but SK has already said he does not "do" social media.

I sit near the directors' box in the main stand and have never heard anything like sustained abuse directed at SK apart from a few random expressions of frustration at times. The difference seems to have been that on Saturday a) he was in the stand, possibly near some disgruntled 'Well fans and not on the touchline and b) this was after he had criticised the fans for their reaction to a very poor cup performance against St Johnstone. No one knows the level of abuse he was reacting to recently but my impression is that his criticism of fans for basically not knowing what they were talking about after they had travelled north in large numbers (and after a dangerous storm) pissed off a lot of the most loyal fan base. That looks like the turning point in this relationship. I think he worked very hard but simply ran out of ideas and the injury crisis gradually wore him down. Slagging off supporters is a high-risk reaction to (in my opinion) justified criticism ten days ago which rarely ends well. I don't think for a moment this compares to the levels of criticism that managers at Rangers, Aberdeen or Spurs are experiencing at the moment, though. In the words of the old ditty, balls of brass and a corrugated arse are necessary in the difficult job of being a football manager and I doubt most applicants for the job are under any illusions as to the possible adverse fan reaction when things start to go wrong. I'm sure that Mr K will gain employment on the media circuit very soon until a suitable post comes around. I wish him well because he worked whole-heartedly here and I hope he has learned a few managerial lessons in his time at Fir Park. It will be interesting to see the reaction of our players in the Celtic game and the team selection of whoever is in charge. The king is dead. Long live the king.

I'm hurting like many on here but when sensible and constructive posters like dennyc and clackscat are expressing such grave concerns, SK should be bothered too, although of course those two posters have never played professional football or managed a senior football club (as far as I know) so they can be quickly discounted 😈. This was pretty much the "Souness Defence" to criticism but I don't think SK has reached those heights of performance. I'm sure he works very hard but things just haven't worked out for a whole lot of reasons this season, most of which have been rehearsed on here for a while. The board may let things play out because they think SK still has some "credit" but if these disjointed and spiritless performances continue, the fans may well turn on them as well as the manager and things will be liable to change quickly. Defeat against Celtic is probably a given, so the next three matches in February will be vital., all winable in normal circumstances for a competent and motivated football team. If the manager can achieve a couple of wins at least and fashion an organised team which plays with some shape and spirit, he will certainly deserve some more time. However, for me, things are approaching Alexander levels of disengagement and disillusion with our "style" of play. I simply can't be bothered listening to the manager's explanations any more either. At least if the worst comes to the worst, given our choice of strip this year, I can kid myself I'm not really watching a Motherwell team 😱. May The Force be with us.

A balanced assessment which pretty much sums up my feelings at the moment. If SK can learn from this low point and show an ability to change then he can survive. If he stubbornly sticks to a no Plan B mentality then the next few months will be difficult, and unsustainable if he has truly lost the support and the dressing-room. A team with no Plan B is very easy to play against, as Mr Postecoglu is discovering at the moment.

Yes, I was talking to a Rangers fan of my acquaintance about Lennon Miller and what would be his best move when he leaves Motherwell and he contrasted LM's development via his number of games with us with Bailey, who was supposed to be as promising but has just warmed the bench for a couple of years and whose career has stagnated. I think Lennon's best move may be to the continent, like Lewis Ferguson.

Hadn't thought of that aspect. Imagine if they were denied promotion to the top division again (as when we escaped relegation) because their ground was not compliant. Allowing plastic pitches in the pro game is just one of the many issues which show the amateurish nature of our footballing authorities. I'm sure many English clubs in tiers three and four could make a financial case for plastic but the English FA seems to think (rightly, in my opinion) that it is beyond the pale. I often wonder who's pulling the strings on this issue up here.

Wellfan mentioned above that Killie have been allowed to postpone ripping up their plastic and putting down real grass at the end of this season. Anyone know why this has been permitted?

So both decisions were pretty dodgy then. Never mind, I'm sure Willie Collum will clear it all up over the next few days and Rangers will produce a counter-statement which will include the words "sporting integrity" to make it all sound impressive. As wellfan says, the square root of feck all will be done about and there will be no consequences for the officials. Just another Groundhog Day in Scottish football. Next!

Calmed down enough to watch Sportscene this morning: pretty dreadful with C-List pundits and no worthwhile analysis of the incidents while the programme quickly moved on to other games in a "nothing to see here" kind of way. Like another poster above (sorry, can't remember who) I felt The Ox could have been impeded by an offside Rangers player at their first goal. Had it been at the other end I think it would have been looked at more closely. Makes me wonder if there is any point in attending games against the OF. The shiny new techology is often used selectively, imo. Miller was even under red card scrutiny for a brilliant tackle where he won the ball. No wonder he looked bemused.

And accused us of kicking his cherubs off the park. Typical Ferrgie!

Sorry to destroy your Christmas spirit. I'm very Zen about it all now, of course. Ahooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Werewolves of London! Doesn't affect me, affect me, affect me, affect me, affect me.......

At least JRP Gordon was caught taking a bung from AS Roma a while later but that was the most bitter disappointment I've experienced as a 'Well fan because it was so blatant, especially since Willie P. had been hacked down by Greig at the Rangers end a few minutes before the ref decided to give them a penalty for nothing. Not on the same scale but Kipré's sending off and "penalty" in the 2017 LC final and McGregor's dive for a penalty in injury time to avoid Celtic's first league defeat of the season spring to mind.

I'm afraid I've got the impression over the years that Mr McLean doesn't like us very much. Not to a Craig Thomson/JRP Gordon level but enough to make me worry. Was it because his brother Brian only played 25 games in three years with us?

dennyc: "And Killie might have had to change their half time game plan which was working a treat." Quite right: get your "substitute retalition" in first and take the initiative. That's something for SK to ponder for future games if he is to improve as a manager.

"That said, just clean out everything and take the foul which keepers invariably get." Yep, that's the traditional way, even if you go through your own defender. I hope the coaching staff do some "mentoring" to reinforce the point. The Ox had two great saves after that, three if he got a touch on Moult's crossbar-rattler, so he's worth working on.

The Ox seems to have got the jitters now, which is worrying, but I was delighted for Stama, who showed what he can do if he gets the ball in the right way in the 18 yard box. Kaleta is ok when attacking but he's not a great defender. and looked out of his depth in that role. Seddon (and Sparrow when he came on) played well but Blaney didn't instil much confidence and Gordon seems to be regressing a bit. TC had DU rocking in the first half but tired and he was given the treatment by the opposition defence in any case. A great win but I hope we address the obvious weaknesses in our performance before next Friday. Love seeing Goodwin deflated/disappointed but those last few minutes were painful.

It was mainly an anecdotal night to showcase the book, as you would expect, so I wasn't expecting any great insights. I actually only went because a friend asked me to come along and we were going to the pub afterwards 🤣. He seemed ok on the surface but it's hard to tell much about a person in an hour of chat about things you didn't witness yourself. The one story I did find surprising was that the salary John Boyle offered him as CE (or whatever his title was) was too much and he would only take half the amount offered because money wasn't very important to him and JB was always too generous when splashing the cash. Since I had already heard negative views of his time at FP, it was frankly difficult for me to come to a conclusion. In my experience , you only really get to know someone by working with them (or marrying them 😈) that's when you discover their true nature, for better or worse.

You're sounding like my old pal 😉.

Attended an event at Motherwell library tonight with Pat Nevin talking about his time at MFC and other clubs. His new book was for sale also. I had an older friend, sadly no longer with us, who was very critical of PN during his time at the club so it was interesting to hear the latter's version of things. Whom to believe, eh?

Exactly, and you are quite right to draw attention to Clarke's contradictory statements. He's getting to be as thrawnly defensive/prickly and dismissive as Strachan was in his final phase as international manager. I also notice that he sometimes pushes Carver out to do his talking for him before matches now. I'm pretty sure Lennon Miller will be in a Scotland squad as soon as he's left Fir Park.

For that reason I'm hoping Lennon goes abroad when he leaves us. Max seems to be doing pretty well now and even sampling CL football.

I'm even more worried that he gets injured playing for Scotland U19. We can't afford him to be out for a run of games.

Looks like his career is really taking off. Sorry, I'll get my C&A coat.

Hee hee! Wished I'd checked my spelling before I posted. Off to thrash myself with birch twigs.