weeyin

Given the importance of the fixture to our season and the resultant fall-out, it seems someone at the club dropped the ball on that one - so yes. Reading the "I wasn't at the game and didn't find out until Les told me after the sacking" quotes the day after made us look quite amateurish at a time when were pushing the Society membership. I'm glad someone gave you an explanation, because nobody bothered to communicate one to me.

Did you ask him why he wasn't at the Morton game?

Maybe, but Moult and Fletcher were more direct replacements for him and Sutton and they seem good enough.

As I recall, he was talking himself up for the Celtic job within his first week of joining us.

Serious question. What's so bad about him compared, say, to a McCall, McGhee or Brown who all had average managerial careers before taking on our squad.

I remember when he played for the schoolboy team that cuffed England.

I still think Baraclough's problem was not understanding the general shiteyness of a team who had managed to finish 2nd in the previous season and seemed to give up the following one. Something I find hard to fathom myself.

Not really. It's just a numbers game. When crowds are large, the polis are more interested in containment and control. When crowds are smaller, containment and control are less of an issue, so they have time to focus on whatever infractions they decide are flavor of the month. It's been that way for a long time now. If we had 50 or 60 thousand inside Fir Park every week you could light your bangers to your hearts content.

This week was the first week any interviews were being conducted. Even if they have the short list down to 5 and manage to schedule one interview per day, there was no way an appointment would be made until next week at the earliest. Even if they found the guy they wanted today, it takes a few days to sort out contracts etc. No need to panic.

This thread reeks of International Break Week.

Utd and Liverpool, it would seem, had replacements in their sights before sacking their current managers. We did not. If there were 75 applicants, it could easily take a week to sift through them all and come up with a short list. I know standard wisdom where I work is that it typically takes 2 - 3 months to fill an open spot. Obviously a little different here, but 2 or 3 weeks doesn't seem like an age, tbh.

I'm sure you're right - MLS teams are quite happy to sign up players and then let them play elsewhere off-season. Hope it works out for him.

He'll need to be quick. The MLS regular season ends on the 25th of October and Philly are already officially eliminated from the play-offs.

He had a winning team as a baseline. Baraclough had a team in serious decline. He was also allowed to buy players like Coyne, Cooper and Russell. First season in the SPL we were saved by reconstruction. Later season we finished 9th out of 10 when relegation was reduced to bottom one instead of bottom 2.

Based on last season, that is his "glass half full" demeanour.

Apart from cover for Pearson, we should have enough quality to be fighting for top 6 this season. Not saying we'll make top 6, but should be at least in the fight.I don't think it's the signings Baraclough made, so much, as his inability to find his best starting 11 and/or tactics. Of course there have been guys that didn't work out, but that is par for the course for any manager. I think Craigan has shown he's not ready for the step-up yet (even if he wanted it), but someone with a bit more tactical nous should be able to stabilize things in the short term. Having said all that, I think some fans understimate what a bad state we were in last season - or rather, how much effort it takes to address that state of affairs. It took wee Tommy 4 or 5 seasons to build us from a newly promoted First Division team into a team that challenged for the top of the SPL. It could take the same again for any new gaffer.

After some of the comments about Craigan's post match, I thought maybe I had heard a different interview. But no, seems it was the same one. Given that it was an MFC TV video, I think his direct quotes below aren't exactly happy clappy: "2nd half for some reason took us 23 minutes to bring 3 or 4 passes together. If you're going to be in a game where you can't keep the ball then your always going to be on the back foot". "Do they sit back a bit and invite the opposition on..." "Again, poor goals conceded" "I think back to lots of games this season where the opposition is getting into our box too easy, scoring goals too easy" "A cross ball, and you set up a wall for a free kick and just disintegrates. There's no excuses, the players just have to face up to it. The players have to understand where they're going in their careers first and foremost at Motherwell." "You don't come up to football games and just get through them, just play and get a couple of touches of the ball. You have to show that bit of heart sometime. Put your foot in and be strong. If you don't do that then you're always going to be on the back foot." "Anger and frustration because people are paying good money to travel up" ".. it's about understanding 'do I really want to win that ball - do I really want to get on the end of that ball?'... you know, the opposition gets one and it goes in the back of the net".

He might not have been blunt, but it sounded like his comments were spot on given that he basically accused the team of needing a long hard look at theselves for the effort (or lack of) they put in, giving away too many soft goals, too many bad decisions when passing, and missing easy chances.

Just some PR fluff from his management company while he looks for his next job. Probably not even written by him.

Best reader of the game and best timer of a tackle I have ever seen. How many seasons was it he went without even a booking? One of the MFC greats.

Did he not win those with teams other people assembled, though and not even being manager for a full season? I seem to remember he relegated a couple of those with the teams he actually built.

I think in his entire management career, McGhee has had one good season, and it was his first one with us. He had some great players at his disposal during that season, too. I'm on the fence about any potential return as, inevitably, as soon he gets back into the club scene you just know he'll be touting himself for bigger and better things. They way he left didn't really bother me, and seems like an affable kind of guy. Might be the right person to get the best out of our team.

Butcher is currently the manager at Newport County.

He certainly seemed to be aiming his sights on a media career as his football playing days wound down. To me, some TV work mixed in with coaching the youngsters sounds like a great gig. Guess it depends if he really is looking for a managerial career path now.