star sail

Some thoughts on last night. First of all, that playing surface seems to look better every time we see it. It is now a thing of real beauty and really adds to the sense of occasion on a night like last night. I was reminded of how Firpark can be one of the best grounds for atmosphere in the whole of Scotland. It brought back a sense of nostalgia for big nights in the past at Firpark. I think what is particularly noteworthy is the amount of late goals we are scoring. Successful teams do this and it is a habit that is very nice to see. Congratulations to everybody involved at the club. You can see what it meant to the players and the coaching staff in the video posted above. I think the momentum has been building to a night like last night for some time. Happy days.

The Daily Record represents everything that is horrible about football in the West of Scotland. I cannot remember the last time that I looked at a story in that rag. It will be at least 20+ years ago. No interest in promoting Scottish football in general and every interest in the promotion of one particular club at the expense of all else. Out of sight , out of mind is the best policy with that type of journalism.

Once again, it shows just how difficult it is to be a football manager of one of the smaller teams in the league. Some very experienced managers have tried and failed with teams in recent years, Tommy Wright, Owen Coyle, Malky Mackay, Craig Levein to name a few. Proof to me yet again that SK is doing very well to keep Motherwell's head above the water.He must be one of the longest servicing managers in the league. The life span of managers at clubs is bonkers.

I agree with what you say about the Scottish psyche when it comes to winning football matches. It is no coincidence that we lost to Poland and Portugal with late goals. Hungary in the Euros was another example. There is a weakness in the mindset in Scotland that seems to make us terrified of success. The national rugby team displays the exact same flaws. It is not specifically a Motherwell problem as you say yourself but as Motherwell fans we can we guilty of thinking with that Scottish defeatist mindset. I'm not sure though that is proof that SK should have been sacked after 15 winless games. The positive end to last season and the good start to this season is a bigger factor in suggesting that it was right to give him time during that difficult spell. I would imagine that quite a few Aberdeen fans will see Motherwell as their bogey team. We have a habit of inflicting some painful defeats on them so why not continue that trend by ending their winning start to the season. 1-2 Motherwell.

I agree with what you say about his technical ability and creativity but he would be one of those high risk signings that Kettlewell has been slated for in recent times. I must admit though I would still find it an exciting proposition if KVV did come back just to see if he could reproduce the magic one last time. I think the odds would be against him regaining that form though.

Excellent result. I really hope the team can push on from this and have a sustained run of good form. It feels like this performance has been some time in the making. Well done SK and the players. Maybe the patience shown by SK for Halliday is also starting to pay off.

Signing risky players is a product of the limited market SK has to shop in. Young players that show potential but have not performed yet are a risk. Bair was a risk that worked. Good quality experienced players that but for a few injuries would be completely priced out of our market are a risk. Louis Moult was a risk that did not work out for Stevie Hammell. He then did work out for Dundee Utd. Veteran players that have reached the end of their careers that we could never have dreamt of signing when in their prime are a risk. Callum Patterson may be an example of that. Andy Halliday is a risk that I still think could go either way. Remember we missed out on Robert Snodgrass a season or two back. A perfect example of a player we could not have afforded but for the fact that he was in the twilight of his career. He did not exactly set the heather on fire on his return to Scotland so even he would have been a risk that may not have worked. Look at Van Veen going to Kilmarnock. It was a risk that did not work and I would imagine it was a fairly expensive one for Kilmarnock. Let's say that Ryan Jack is training with us and SK can see in training that he is significantly better than the midfield players we have. He is gaining fitness and stays injury free The option is there to offer him 6 months/ 1 year. Would SK really be off his head to consider this? I think the problem sometimes with the arguments you put forward wellfan is that you fail to recognise the significant restraints that Motherwell and SK work under. SK has to gamble sometimes. It is the nature of being financially one of the smaller clubs in the top league.

How do you fluke a top 6 finish?

Stephen Robinson got us to two cup finals in a season losing to Celtic both times. He also had us in 3rd place when the league was terminated due to coronavirus. You only have to look back at the threads at that time to see that a minority of the support were moaning about him then. I think the word imposter was a favourite back then too. We will never, ever get a manager that will satisfy that minority of our support. I am sure that every team has them.

Now that's a Propper own goal!! Let's hope it unsettles them.

Agreed. I think that is something that is always overlooked. It takes weeks to build fitness back to a competitive level after an injury. In Hallidays case, the notion that he will be fully fit and match sharp after a month of pre-season at his age is very optimistic. He has to get minutes on the pitch and we may not see him coming into his own until September/October. I fear for Slattery's return as well. He will be given about 5 mins to get match fit before the knives are out.

I don't think there is anything we have seen so far this season to change the perceptions of individual fans from the end of last season. Those who wanted Kettlewell sacked last season are already building the rhetoric to hold that same position this season. Those (like me) who thinks we are playing a waiting game and that it could still go either way for Kettlewell and the team are still playing a waiting game. It is too early to really say. Halliday will need time if he is to come good this season. He also needs time on the pitch. The new players need time to settle. The positives are that we are unbeaten in our competitive games ths season. (in 90 mins) and we looked better than RC. Interestingly the BBC Text commentary noted some surprise that there was boos coming from sections of the Well support at full time. I think the hangover from last season may be skewing our judgement of what the early season looks like.

This is a very good summary of the season. I think there has actually been a consistency to the season that is overshadowed a little by the winless run in the winter. Without dazzling or ever really being comprehensibly thumped it has generally been a mediocre season. This seems strange to say when we have been really competitive against the OF and we got th long awaited league victory against Rangers Looking at Kettlewell's record as a whole over one and a half seasons, I think there is reason to believe we have the makings of a decent manager who will improve with time. He reminds me a little of Derek McInnes, never sensational, never completely at sea just steady making incremental improvements. If that incremental improvement continues Wellfan could get his wish of a top 6 finish and I think it is reasonable for him ( and all of us) to set that as the next target . Overall I think the club has reached an equilibrium just now that will serve as a good basis to push on to greater things. I am excited for next season but then I am a self aware happy clapper. Looking forward to my hands being red raw next season.

Goal difference of +1 is non too shabby. We have lost alot of games by a single goal this season.

Kettlewell to Hearts exclusive?