joewarkfanclub

All good points. Hopefully Celtic are not the only bidder and the clubs resolve does not require to be put to the test as we AND the player will have better options!

The Media have made it worse by platforming guys like Farage and normalising the discourse that surrounds them.

If they come in last minute, then this is absolutely what they are doing. Id take £4m up front plus Luke McCowan though! 😉

Casey has made mistakes no doubt. But he hasnt made more this season than Blaney, SOD, Balmer or even Gordon. His attitude and commitment on the pitch can never be questioned and I think it is more likely that he has been left out for speaking his mind than his footballing ability. If he has indeed signed a PCA with Hearts that may also feed into it. But he isnt any poorer a player than the others on current form.

I think SOD and Blaney have been preferred in recent weeks to try and play a bit more football at the back. Previously we had Casey, Gordon and Balmer and the ball was getting shelled over the top of the midfield to strikers unable to deal with it. I understand why it was done, but it hasnt really worked. Our pass/possession rate hasnt improved and we look more fragile at the back than ever, mostly from cross balls. Our biggest problem all season has been midfield. We havent had the numbers due to injury and illness, and the ones left fit and available simply dont have the legs or ability to make five at the back work unless we push the wing backs high, which leaves us vulnerable at the back. Like KMcAlpin says, we need fresh eyes to look at the sqaud and find a solution that works vetter than what we have been doing. Otherwise we are going to passively slip into a relegation battle we currently look ill equipped to get out of.

Lots of effort. Not a lot of quality. Thompson looked decent and seems to have something to offer if we an get 90 minutes out him.

Our workrate and effort out of possession is commendable. We kept our shape for the most part and the score wasnt humiliating. However, we have absolutely no quality and composure on the ball and provide virtually zero threat going forward. You cant provide any threat to the opposition with 18% of the ball and I refuse to believe the players arent capable of more as they have proved otherwise albeit sporadically already this season. I like Stevie Frail and he has spoken well this week. I also accept that ripping up the way we play against the best team in the league may have not been the smartest thing to do going into this game. But the result we got was so depressingly predictable and if he wont change things going forward he has no chance of being considered for the current vacancy.

This team cant beat Celtic. Especially given the way we will set up. Anything less than 3 will be a miracle. Next game please.

Jordan McGhee would complete the set and should be enough reinforcements to see us through to the injured players returning. I suspect though, that things will continue to look ugly and dysfunctional for a few weeks yet. I do think that eventually we will have enough quality to see us safe, but its not looking great right now. Where that will leave the manager in the summer is anyones guess.

Good news is Im on holiday and cant make this. Bad news is one of the guys Im away with is a huge Celtic fan. Hoping to hide his mobile phone so we dont need to discuss this.

Hard to pick a definitive winner this week as it is based mostly on the first 45 minutes as the 2nd 45 was poor. Best first half were Halliday, Sparrow, Nicholson and Watt. Watt lasted the longest but I went for Hallidaybas I felt he was much improved and showed some leadership until he had to be replaced.

Well, what to say...... Hopes were raised on seeing the team lineups as it looked like a 4-3-3 or similar. Then the game started and it was clear it was still a 5 at the back and my heart sunk. To be fair, the changes did help as we had more legs and energy in the team and were able to press and win the ball back further up the field than in recent weeks. As a result we looked a lot more solid and created a few chances that might have seen us comfortable had better decisions been made in the final 3rd. Second half started ok, but as soon as we started to make changes we just started to retreat to our own goal line. The fact that we get to 84 minutes 1-0 up away from home and cant see a game out is a real concern. SK comments after the game seems to throw the players under the bus. You have to wonder how long they will continue to back him as a group. He is not responding well to the pressure being applied and we arent even in a relegation battle yet. This looks like its heading only one way. I dont take any pleasure in it and Im not going to call for his head just yet, but like many of the other more reasonable posters on here I am at the end of my tether........

Exactly. Anyway. Actions speak louder than words. I will watch with interest as to how we line up tomorrow, the tactics we employ, and obviously how the game pans out. I hope for a positive result!

Seems like we can actually scout more than one position at a time! Funny that! Hopefully he is of the required standard and we get the deal done!

So we should ignore his remarks about "so called experts"? If he isnt talking about us, who is he talking about? Im all for cutting him slack on performances, injuries etc, but those comments go too far for me......

Not fussed how many he scores. If he can hold the ball up, bring others into play and get us up the pitch it will be an improvement to what we have been seeing recently. Obviously the odd goal here and there would help, but I dont think thats why we are signing him. We beed a foil for Stama when he comes back. A Bowman for our Moult so to speak. If he can do that we will have won a watch.

Its not just those that are against him that are bothered by the tone. There are a few of us on here who have been generally supportive who are somewhat irked by this interview. I certainly dont expect SK to be taking advice from me, but when you work in a customer centred environment and your customers tell you en masse (Perth) what you are doing isnt good enough, you should at least stop for a second and see if there is another way to meet your objectives. If you double down and keep heading in the same direction, you run the risk of alienating your customer who decide to keep their money in their pockets. For a football manager that rarely ends well.

Exactly. He just told everyone who was in Perth last week that their opinion doesnt matter to him as they never played the game. Talk about pouring oil on the fire!

Note to SK. Beware the Happy Clapper who stops clapping. It means everyone else has too!

As someone who has defended SK through thick and thin last season and this, I find the tone of that interview pretty disrespectful (despite the lengths he has gone to to assure me it is not!) Just because I havent played football at any decent level doesnt mean I cant see whats in front of my own eyes or offer an opinion on where we are going wrong. If that was the case Jose Mourihno shouldnt have been any good as a football manager. Most of our fans are NOT knee jerk. The vocal minority maybe. But I think most fans (in the stands at least) have been pretty patient with the manager and the team EXACTLY because of the difficult circumstances we have encountered this season. That doesnt cover over the further mistakes we believe are being made in tactics, team selection, in game management etc. He could and should be making better use of the players available by using tactics and formations that get the best out of everyone. Im not buying for a minute that we have used a vast array of tactical options this season. It has been mostly sit tight, allow the opposition possession, absorb pressure until they make a mistake and try and counter. He is increasingly coming across as a manager under pressure and has utterly disrespected the view of the nearly 2k Motherwell fans who were in Perth last weekend. If he really does double down this weekend and go with more of the same, he better hope the players are able to dig out a win for him. Adapt or die. Its the first law of survival.

If he is just in for back up and not immediately pushing Archie Mair out of the first team then Im ok with it. As stated we have limited options at this time of year and we need more than our youth keeper on the bench when our first pick is just a boy. But I wouldnt be so enthused if it was felt he was goung to be a longer term solution!

Thats my beef with it. Keeper can get away with that but Watt is punished for less. The Dundee United handball as well. Comes straight over his team mates shoulder, his arm is up to help him jump (natural position for the action) and it comes off his head and steikes his arm. Not sure what the defender can do in that circumstance, other than not challenge for the ball in the first place, which is clearly a ludicrous suggestion. Anyway. Better than no clarification at all, so more power to them.

Interesting stuff. Not sure I agree on some of the decisions, but good to get some transparency.

Excellent post. My feelings exactly!

Fans will still be unhappy. But not on the same scale as they will if we go down doing the same thing and in the same gutless fashion. Your loyalty to the club and the manager is admirable. But here is a question for you. At what point does your critical thinking kick in and question whether he is still the right man for the job? Or does he have your unwavering support regardless of the circumstances?