joewarkfanclub

I think folk are reponding to this quote in the press release...... "It has become very clear over the last few years that for the club to operate on a sustainable basis, provide the manager with a competitive player budget, meet the vastly increased cost of our other activities including having a successful Woman’s Team and maintaining a fit for purpose Stadium, Training Ground and Academy facility, that it will require significant investment; funding on a similar scale to that received by many others in the SPFL."

Im not sure I agree with or fully understand what they are saying. Surely the club requires to be run on a sustainable basis regardless of who owns it? In other words we only spend the cash we generate. The Well Society was supposed to be operated as an overdraft facility to aid cash flow during points in the season when revenues were low and there was still expenditure requiring to be covered. That being the case the money going in and out of the Society should actually accumulate over time and become larger as more donations are made. If we are still running that model, then the only thing a wealthy shareholder would bring is a bigger overdraft facility. If we are not running that model then I would be concerned as to what we are opening ourselves up to. What wealthy benefactor is going to put investment into the club without wanting a return on that investment? If they want a return, where is it going to come from? We went down that route before and it nearly finished us. So, whilst it would appear to be a good thing that changes are afoot and we are to get new blood and new ideas into the club, I think we should be careful what we wish for. The guys who have been running the club may not have done everything to the satisfaction of the fans and they will certainly have made mistakes. But they were all Motherwell fans and had the best interests of the club at heart. I thank them for their service and hope they have left behind a plan to secure our future going forward.

We showed at Ibrox earlier in the season we have the players to challenge them. And we now have a striker that can finish and cause them problems.

Rangers are in great form, unbeaten under Clement. We havent won in 14 games. We will never have a poorer chance! 😉

I think we would all accept that the standard of our league isnt as good as it used to be. But to suggest its total shite and there is no entertainment in it at all is manifestly wrong. Christ, we havent won in 14 games, but would anyone say they werent entertained by any of our last minute equalisers this season? Kellys penalty save at Parkhead? Mika rag dolling the Hibs defence on his debut? Passing Rangers off the park at Ibrox? Theres been plenty to be entertained by this season despite our woeful record, and thats just us, the team second bottom of the league! He has thrown his players under the bus with that interview after only a few weeks in the door. Many of them would be justified in saying "Why dont you f#ck off back to Morecombe then" Be interesting to see how Ross County's results go in the next few weeks.

We have 5 draws in 7 matches including a number of last minute equalisers. Livi havent scored a goal in 7 games. I would never suggest Motherwell are a stick on to beat anyone, but its in no way doubtful. I would say though, if we do go into that game with 16 without a win after the Rangers and Aberdeen games and we lose to Livvy, then the recent improvements will count for nothing and the end of the road will have been reached. I sincerely hope that doesnt happen.

Just seen the interview. Thats a total meltdown from Adams. Cant believe he has thrown his players under the bus so early. Hard to see how that plays out well.

Good point at a difficult venue. Probably should have had 3 going by the chances we missed. But the clean sheet is pleasing. Shout out to Liam Kelly for his penalty save, David for defending him after last weeks debacle and SK for keeping the faith in his no.1. Just shows you what I know! 😆

This is where Im at. A few weeks ago I thought it was looking very grim and that SKs head had gone. However, today we've gone away to the 4th best team in the country who have only lost once at home this season to Rangers, with a patchwork defence and kept a clean sheet. Given the goals we have conceded of late, those bemoaning our poor 4 man midfield might want to have a think about how that was achieved. Had we converted just 1 of the 4 gilt edged chances created in the second half, then we would be sitting with our first win since September. I get that its no wins in 14 now, but the manager did everything asked of him today. If he continues to do that and the players keep playing for him, then that win wont be far away. There is no doubt the squad still needs help in January. But its looking less desperate than it was.

Liam Kelly making amends for last week? Repaying SK for keeping faith in him....

Yup. Happy with that. We have played our best football this season in that formation. Difference now is we have a decent striker to make it work.

But you got an email though. So........

I dont want a say in the day to day running of the club. Thats what the board and/or a CEO are for. But if we genuinely "own" the club (ie the Well Society is the majority shareholder) we should have a say on the big decisions and general direction of the club. For exanple, do we want to spend money on a training ground, or keep leasing Dalziel? Do we want to stay at Fir Park and pay for the upkeep or should we be looking at moving / redevelopment. Some of the ideas you posted elsewhere regarding the way forward for the club, a "blueprint for development" or whatever you want to call it, should all be up for discussion and there should be a mechanism in place to allow for this and take things forward. It would then be up to the board /CEO to investigate and if achievable implement these changes, or at least come back to us and explain why it isnt viable. It shouldnt just be, give us your money, now sit down and leave it to the grown ups, we know what we are doing. Like all investors, we can stop parting with our cash at any point if we feel we are being taken for a ride......

I was joking! 😉

Formations are obviously flexible, but on relfection what I was suggesting would look more like this...... Kelly SOD Mugabi Blaney Spencer Davor Paton Gent Slattery Spittal Biereth

I dont know how they go about exerting power, but I tbink there are only 2 on the board (I could be wrong on that) so in the minority and not able to force through or demand anything if the other board members vote against.....

I dont disagree with that. But thats not really fan owned is it? Owners should have some input on their investment. This is my problem with the Well Society's relationship with the club. The club are happy to take our money but not willing to to cede any input in decision making. Im not saying the fans should be consulted in every single matter. You cant run a business that way. But we should have a say on the general direction of the club and matters of importance. Just my opinion.

Give Goggsy a job. Burrows started there. Could be CEO in 5 years!

We can get natural width from our wingbacks if we play the right ones. But again there needs to be a sacrifice somewhere if we are to remain secure at the back. Spencer and Gent got to the by-line repeatedly on Tuesday night. They should retain their places. Its what happens in the midfield when they go forward we need to work out.

All formations have strengths and weaknesses. If we play 2 up top you may get more support to Biereth but we will lose control of the midfield. So we may not have the control of the ball to play to his strengths. We certainly didnt on Saturday. Id like to see us ditch the ball over the top and use his pace to play in the channels. Or get the wingbacks forward to get crosses into the box. Im not against 2 up top. Was just answering the question about playing to Mika's strengths. We can always change it up if its not working. Forwards are the only subs we have available.....

True......

Interestingly Turnbull had the best goals to minutes ratio in the league. Boy needs to get outta Dodge!

Having Spittal and Slattery in advanced roles playing balls into the channels for him would be playing to his strengths. He is strong and has pace to burn. I think the 5-4-1 with the diamond would do that. We were able to control the midfield in those games. It was just a bit toothless with Bair up front on his own. Mika is different gravy. If we accept we arent getting any of injured players back, I think we could do worse than start with this..... Kelly (sic) SOD Mugabi Blaney Spencer Davor Gent Slattery Paton Spittal Biereth

He did more than any other player to ensure we got the last 3 points we won at Hearts. His form since then has mirrored that of the team as a whole.....

I actually like Obika. He didnt have his best game on Saturday, but of the strikers we have, I think he has the most attributes to be a decent foil for Biereth if given time. Just as he was for KVV last season. He has a good touch for a big guy and holds the ball up fairly well. Again, I think its a matter of us not playing to his strengths at the moment and the fact he has been injured and not had a run of games. He is not very good in the air but we persisted in shelling long balls over his head on Saturday. Play it into his chest or feet and we will see some joy and it well get us up the park into a more stable position to develop attacks. I think once he and Mika get to know each others game better and the rest of the team work out how to feed him, we will see better results. Our big issue right now is our results have been so honking, too few have any patience left to see if it will work. Whether he will score enough goals himself to keep everyone happy remains to be seen, but Id take him scoring a handfull if Mika can find a KVV purple patch.