Motherwellfc1991

Just back from game . Certainly more Possession today I think and created a few half chances and wee spell of pressure in 2nd half . No malice just an opinion but playing SODs will take us down . Midfield today was powder puff. Bossed , bullied and united fitter sharper and just better in the engine room player to player . Miller guilty a few times of drawing out of challenges as well Feel sorry for Wilson out his depth and looks devoid of confidence . Keeper did well , Casey and right back ok and thought sparrow and two strikers tried hard. We just lack quality and fitness and strength all over the pitch . It is gonna be tough to stay in the league and that is on Kettlewell . We need the manager to work a miracle and quickly

New mangers only real remit should be to keep us up and away from the playoffs . That is a tough gig itself as not many of these players will really care about where we end up this season. Once that is done he has a big summer coming up to get rid of the dross he has inherited and rebuild for next season . Make no doubt about it our current squad is very very poor. Next season will be up and down with a full new squad but hopefully we start playing football and have some players with some ability and passion . Imagine a right back who can pass the ball forward , a team creating chances and playing with intensity - we can start dreaming

Would love to hear who these 6 players are

I assume the Lennon miller and Tony watt votes are taking the mickey . Miller looked like a lost wee boy out there today but not helped by the system or senior pro meant to be playing beside him

I saw enough today to know that we are in real trouble . Attitude of several players is a worry as is the lack of ability . Not sure if it’s calculated manipulation on the 3 senior players part or will full blindness on the part of management but how on earth to they continue to get a game . No leadership in that team , no desire and no balance . Kettlewell has really done the dirty on us with his signings and calculated underhand exit

On our league position - right now it’s very healthy and if this continues then there’s little argument on the manager . The purpose of finishing higher and higher is to get more money and then in turn improve the team/player standard and the club - that’s where the debate can really start at the end of this season when we see the league position against the balance sheet. Whether the happy clappy brigade want to admit it or not the standard on show and the product on the pitch is dreadful to watch but that is a lot down to the how the manager sets the team up. It’s a fine balance of course but yesterday for me and the lack of any standard does stop people coming to fir park. Not many of the extra 4k at the game yesterday will be back anytime soon. Apart from the occasion itself there’s next to nothing to bring them back - a defensive team - a team with no style - hoofball - zero entertainment - a team chasing shadows with no out ball - a team that couldn’t force a save out an opposition goalkeeper with one real chance in 90 minutes - a team with players that jog rather than sprint 5 minutes after they come on - a team with a manager who chooses his own deluded take on proceedings As I said at the top now’s not the time to judge a manager fully , the end of the season is but even the most claret and amber tinted glass wearing happy clappy must see that set ups and performances like yesterday won’t tap into this fan base people at the club and the full society board keep harping on about. We the fans filled the allocation yesterday backed the team and we got zero entertainment and a manger in my opinion who didn’t know how to beat the poorest new rangers team in their history - that mainly due to poor signings and a naivety of what a proper performance never mind the result could have done to attract the floating fan back for more. Pass marks so far for league position but yesterday an epic fail to bolster our fans back to Fir Park rhetoric that’s being pushed by many inside the club/society

I find it ironic that our safety officer can’t put arrangements in place to prevent ‘doubling up’ at turnstiles when Celtic come to town and jeopardise our safety certificate and a fine but is quick to play the safety card to ruin the east stand by removing the front row to cover up a monumental mistake on his part He continues to play the big I am until there’s a proper problem then he’s nowhere to be seen.

I feared our midfield favoured trio would stand off mcgregor . I was wrong as mcgregor never played but my goodness the blessed midfield 3 ensured they never tried to get near Celtic - can’t remember one single tackle on them. They didn’t press and didn’t sit they advanced two steps again and again to allow Celtic to pick them off and pass around them Halliday so far off the pace it’s hard to believe , Davor not good enough and Miller did his best to draw out of everything . Yes he’s a talent in a Possesion based team and on the ball but wasteful today with his corners, wasteful with possibly our best two chances with headers and clearly the hussle and toughness isn’t his game. We need fit , strong ball winners next to him not the managers friend who can’t run the length of himself. We have so many strikers but can’t seem to get the right combination to see if any are actually any good. Back 3 as poor as I’ve seen them today - partly due to opposition and partly due to who was in it Thought Kaleta showed up well as did Sparrow Summer signing policy is starting to give us problems - no goal scorers and no midfielders

Just maybe but I very much doubt it Stuart Kettlewell will realise that everything Celtic does from the back goes through Callum McGregor and he might ask one of ours players to stay close to him to stop him having so much space and get in his face or better still he might get someone to man mark him. Given he is likely to start miller as our furthest forward midfielder then it won’t work and neither will Andy Halliday due to a lack of pace and sharpness - actually shows you how weak we are in the middle of the park McGrgeor has bossed and dictated everything for as long now, can we not actually try and challenge that tomorrow

Davor takes some real stick. His ability is limited and his job is to break up play , track runs etc - he’s certainly not great BUT it is the job of miller and Halliday to get on the ball, move the ball forward , link play and support the front line - neither were anywhere near it today and not for the first time which led to us going long as they didn’t want the ball and led to the strikers being isolated - most alarming of all was their no 26 receiving the ball from their back line time after time with miller ( our most forward placed player tactically ) being nowhere near him and allowing him to take the ball spin and play forward every single time. We couldn’t do that as our midfield didn’t want the ball and were shut down which resulted in going backwards on most occasions . Surely to fuck Kettlewell could see that or maybe not . Miller and Halliday had the plaudits of late but dundee and docherty had us sussed out today not only with his midfield tactics but midfield desire and strength and determination. Hopefully Sparrow is fit soon to get a start and hopefully Kettlewell will introduce some width and pace into the team otherwise next weekend will be a training exercise for Celtic and it will be a long long 90 mins Would have bitten your hand off for 5th place but it will only go one way if we don’t sort the basics out over the next few weeks and that starts with the midfield 3

I think there is some blame on both sides with this. Block E drop the wee hard man image and the balaclavas they would undoubtedly get the backing of the majority of the support but they also need to behave and not let a few spoil it for the rest. On one particular employee of the clubs stance it appears from the outside looking in he wants to make a name for himself on a power trip he never managed to achieve in his previous employment . I ask a few questions as a supporter and a society member 1. where were the banning orders and prosecutions after the various pitch invasions against Celtic 2. as safety officer why does he think it’s ok for stairwells and emergency exits to be blocked every time the Glasgow two come to town with nothing done during the matches to resolve the issue 3. why did he allow the John hunter stand to be used for a full season whilst there were no suitable emergency gates or safe access from the front of the stand 4. why was their an error on the finish at the front of the stand after the pitch was done and whose error was this and at what cost ? 5. was their really a concern over the safety certificate from the local council which was used as the reason for the debacle over removing seats and putting new barriers in to obscure vision and again at what cost 6. Has the black tarpaulin\netting at the back of the stand been checked by the local authority as part of the safety certificate or was that ok to exclude because it was his idea I keep hearing about the society wanting to bring everyone together , build the support and the ask the usual suspects to dig deeper maybe before they do that we need to get our house in order from the top down

We have no midfielders who can win a tackle, we have no midfielders with any box to box energy , we have no midfielders with any height, we have no midfielders with any pace and we don’t have a number 10. We also have no width in our team full stop never mind any width with pace. Theres only one guy that can sign players and he’s built what looks like a very one dimensional, one trick pony squad that is going to struggle this season sadly. Can have as many unlucky injuries as we have but sadly no injuries wouldn’t change the above points Need to get some players in asap to improve us and give us options

When every penny is a prisoner and people are chuffed with a few new members at £20/£30 quid a month there’s a few items I would like looked into - three examples below 1. A cash turnstile - we must be losing revenue with this 2. A review of the merchandise contract and full analysis of this to show members if the status quo is actually beneficial to the club 3 . Youth development strategic plan aligned with the boards strategic plan for the short , medium and long term Few decent candidates and a few ‘yes’ men who aren’t in my opinion what is needed. Those with the ‘it’s about the club ‘and not me ethos will get my vote

Unforeseen works in the east stand - what works were that ?

Cheers thanks That’s around the figure I been told but didn’t know if it was factual or not I’m asking myself now - given the club is on a sound financial footing ( according to the present chairman)and we’ve raked in decent money on transfers over the past few years why the need to borrow from the society - something isn’t adding up - unless it was particular projects etc

Genuine questions looking for some factual answers not hear say. I don’t know the answers hence asking given some stuff I’ve seen raised on social media 1. How much funds have the well society to date passed to the club? Roughly ?- as a loan ? 2. Why did the society require to pass over these funds - ie - player signing , lack of revenue etc etc 3. Who was the chairman and ceo when the majority of these funds changed hands from society to club as a ‘loan’ 4. when this happened were said chairman and ceo sitting on both the society and executive boards 5. were the remainder of the society board members asked to vote on the money parting from the society to the club If anyone knows the answers then I’ll have a better idea of my choice

I’ve supported the club for 38 years and attended most weeks since . I joined the well society at the point of it starting and paid a decent wedge for many years as I’m sure many did and still do. I’ve also via business contributed to many club events and sponsorship over the years. On this basis some would say I am pro society and blinded by Motherwell FC being the b all and end all through the majority of my life. I now don’t pay in and don’t have a season ticket or contribute as simply because I have different priorities now alongside the product on the pitch being pretty dross for a good few years and other than KVV there’s not been any real exciting footballers that made me want to contribute or buy a season ticket or pay into the society the past few years - I’ve basically picked when it suited me to go of late. I won’t be alone in this statement and know for a fact I am not alone out the group of us who attend. We have a core loyal support and this is reflected in season ticket holders, attendances, well society payments and attendance at general Motherwell related events run by the club. This has been similar numbers over many many years despite the club glossing it up with free season tickets for kids etc. I am very sceptical that the well society can increase numbers or funds based on the above . I hope I’m wrong but I just can’t see it in this economic climate. Some of the society spins lead with the heart rather than the head in my opinion. I’m also sceptical over local business investment as surely parts of this will have been attempted before by the clubs commercial teams/boards over the years. Again being involved in business I can’t see many coming forward but of course I hope I’m wrong . As I see it the club and society cut their cloth accordingly, we hope for premier league survival year on year but don’t expect much success similar to the last few years or much entertainment on the pitch . This keeps in with the community ethos , promoting the woman’s team and keeping the punching above our weight phrase often used for us. I’m not saying that is right or wrong but it’s where it’s taken us and will continue along similar lines. Youth development is critical to any potential windfalls but you also need a system in place, a structure in place and a 1st team manager willing to not fear playing youth . Something hasn’t clicked with this in the past 5 years with what has come through since turnbull with only miller making notable appearances. Whilst there’s a potential windfall with him money in the bank against him remains zero at present. From the outset the society were pushed to the side and didn’t have the say they should have in the running of the club or the big decisions - I firmly believe it was set up for a former employee to protect himself and his ego. Society monies should never have been passed to the club so easily without proper consultation but how much mis management led to the club needing the society to help. Lets hope any new structure allows a proper say in matters should the society be the clubs future. That say needs to be structured and educated though to be successful . Being a Motherwell fan with Motherwell at heart isn’t the only important thing here - that dance has been done before and part of the reason we are where we are. Yes if we are this small wee community club fighting survival only it will be fine but should we not aspire to be more than that and seek a trophy as success? I’m yet to be fully persuaded at all by the investment proposal either by Erik. There’s little detail in the future , in investment, in where he sees us in a year, 3 years and 5 years but hopefully his response will shed some light and then allow me to cast my vote. Of course it’s a risk but what actually are the potential rewards? So far this whole circus is very similar to the general election . A lot of chat, little action, big buzz words and lacking detail. One thing we can’t have though is a future divide, bitterness and a split in the support . From both sides that’s the way I see this heading at the moment. This is about the club futures not individuals on both sides of the debate .

Question for a well society board member or possibly steelboy will know the answer to this like everything else how many paying monthly members of the well society are there at present ? steelboy - I would love to read your CV . You must be in some hire power business and position given your knowledge on everything and that fact that you know the answer to everything.

So can someone tell me …. What is the well society’s strategic business plan or are they keeping that a secret. How to they propose generating income , keeping us in the top flight and giving us some form of entertainment and at least a couple of players worth turning up to watch over the next few years . This is like watching an election debate at the moment - everyone else is Sh**e according to the high and mighty but they can’t tell us what they can actually do to improve us- it’s like they’ve been involved in politics before !!!

Thanks for info on the various board members. Is it just me or is there potentially quite a bit of conflict of interest with two board members being on the exec board and the well society board. I may be wrong in thinking the well society are the majority share holder essentially so if the society decide to question the board on a decision or way of thinking then Dickie and Feely are basically questioning themselves ? The same goes the other way around and they are both for this investment and attempting to persuade the society board and its members. I did way back recall wishing the society to question/raise a few decisions of the board in relation to financial operational decisions mainly stadium and society fund shortfall related and it never made its way past the society because Alan Burrows and One other society and board member at the time didn’t want to be seen to be questioning themselves as they sat on both boards

Can someone inform me who actually sits on the ‘club’ board and who makes up the well society board after the recent appointments and are there individuals that sit on both? i joined the society way back when it was launched and paid a decent monthly contribution for a good few years but I’ve never had an email or anything from them since the joining pack - ever !! I even used the email address posted here recently and still haven’t heard back. Because I don’t contribute now does that mean I don’t have voting rights anymore ? The reason I stopped contributing was mainly because the society had a spell of appointing their ‘own men’ onto the board with no consultation with its members ( this is possibly written into the constitution) and in my opinion it became a puppet for Alan burrows and a couple of others to easily influence !!! The structure and the society’s medium and long term strategy will go a long way in me deciding how i vote ( if I’m allowed) and whether I start contributing again. I may be looking in the wrong places but so far it’s a bit like a general election with more being said about the potential investment by society members that I’m aware of than how the society is going to be successful moving forward - does the society have a written strategic plan for the future ?

Thanks Jay- your posts and information are informative and generally well balanced. One question in the coming days you or someone may well be able to answer is how much bottom line profit has the society made in each of the past 3 years? The information that has been presented to me (I’m not saying it’s true or I believe it) is rather alarming and if the case should be shared with all society members before this potential vote goes ahead. Rather than me post ‘hear say’ the members should be presented with the facts to allow a balanced decision if it goes to a vote. Theres no doubt the Alexander appointment along with his merry men and the Hammell appointment have put the club in a bit of a mess it would appear

Watch it back 2nd half he was caught on his heels every time we tried to relive any pressure he wasn’t even 2nd to the ball. As I stated he may have been knackered but his lack of running allowed Celtic to advance 40/50 yards time and time again . Look at the size of him - put yourself about . Made John Sutton look fit and agile in that 2nd half . Defence under immense pressure we clear our lines and he is stood static - even my pal Blair Spittal had a pop at him. I forgot this forum was for happy clappy only don’t dare criticise the establishment.

Same issues different day. Another defeat another managerial masterclass another poor transfer window. Macgregor given the freedom of Fir Park this afternoon in the 2nd half by a combination of a naive Lennon Miller , a naive manager and an incredibly lazy centre forward in Theo Bair. Yep it’s a tough shift up there but at least put yourself about - his 2nd half contribution and effort was woeful - maybe he was knackered but if so he should have been taken off with 25 to go. And a side note for the god that is Blair spital . Great goal again but does he really think lambasting his team mates mistakes is going to help them - did it constantly today and it won’t help the younger players. Funny how he says nothing when he gives the ball away or kids on he gets caught wrong side. Sadly the club is in an absolute mess from top to bottom and Wednesday night is crucial to everyone apart from Kettlewell who has a job for life based on his win ratio and contract extension

We have a squad that is collectively as bad or worse than it was this time last season and it is certainly worse than it was when we did so well under Kettlewell towards the end of last season. As I’ve said before the fee we got for KVV was naive from the board at best and I personally think we should have offered a proper wedge to keep Goss not the same as he was on. Would Moult and Fletcher have helped the cause , who knows but they couldn’t have been any worse or cost us any more money in wages than Obika, Shaw , Bair and Wilkinson. My biggest gripe with the manager is our midfield - he must have known that that 3 of Paton Slatterly and spital couldn’t possibly compete in this league . No pace , no height , no power , can’t tackle , positionally are poor and their creativity flatters to deceive. They are a massive reason for our defensive and attacking problems. Not one of them would get a game in any other midfield in the league and we have basically no other midfielders. Most other managers would have been sacked by now but the bowling club board of McMahon Feely and co remain silent as usual until the bitter end I fear we don’t have the players to turn this around