CoF

I actually think Black is safe pair of hands just now. He's been in charge of 270 minutes of football against the 2nd and 3rd placed teams in the country. About half of that time has seen us play with a fight, desire and creativity that has been completely devoid from the last 14 odd games under Mccall. If reckon Black remains in charge he'll take plenty of points off the teams around us, and will challenge the teams above. If he was a new manager, I imagine people would be far more optimistic about those performances.

Like everyone, absolutely gutted to be out the cup but for me what has softened the blow is the fact that for the first time this season I've seen us look like a competent and dare I say, exciting football team. We've been prime candidates for at best the play-offs and at worst a straight drop but we'll be safe if we can repeat that first 45 on a more regular basis we'll pick up enough points for a safe bottom 6 finish. Yep, sad times we're aiming this low but that's the reality of this season. Beyond that, I also saw Law, ZFA and Lawson all put in their best shifts in a while and vigurs, lasley and sutton looked sharp(er) too. What wasn't so heartening was how far we dropped away after the first goal. Movement off the ball and passing the ball with a bit of pace and creativity all disappeared. I don't know if that's fitness or just highlights how fragile our confidence is just now.

Do season tickets get into this? Canny mind.

Football management is frighteningly competitive, illustrated by the number of application we have received. There may be a handful who have been put off by the recent news of takeovers etc, but I can guarantee many would simply be happy to be back in the game. Also, I'm sure there's plenty of self belief (or egos, whichever you prefer) to believe that they'll be kept on by the new owners.

Id probably up my interest in the national team. Punt the money I spend on mfc into an away game or something.

Considering we were still sitting 3rd in February I'm not sure how you can say we were favourites to finish 2nd. That said, the 3rd place prize money stayed the same and all the rest went up by just 0.5%. I have no idea why Motherwell voted for it when they would only gain 0.5% should they finish below 3rd. Can only assume spl politics played it's part. Edit: It would be interesting to know when the vote actually took place. I suppose the earlier in the season, the Motherwell had to gain as we were something of an unknown quantity until the end of November.

Hopefully she'll get a bit more respect than our fans gave the Hamilton physio in the cup. Hummin patter.

I'm a huge fan of McCall. Mind, he's still the same manager who gave us a 3rd place finish and 2 SPL runners up spots, has two numerous point tally records, turned 'useless lumps' into 20+ goals a season strikers, has highest top flight win ratio... I'm sure there is more. Aye, knock out competitions have blotted his record here but I think it's absolutely scandalous how much our fans underestimate what he's done here. That said, I do wonder if he's the right man for the job now. I think he's certainly got the managerial skills and enough ability in the squad to turn things around and get us comfortably in the top 6. I've got absolutely no doubt he gives 100% every day. What I do doubt though, is whether his heart is truly still in it. I believe him when he says he's not a careerist manager but job satisfaction at Motherwell must be pretty low after crowds and budgets continue to dwindle despite success on the pitch. I think he's probably a bit scunnered and Motherwell as a longer term project simply doesn't have the same appeal now, and I believe that's be rubbing off on the players. As I said at the start, I think Mccall is on the whole a fantastic manager. But if his love for the job here has diminished, he'd be better giving someone else a crack.

I agree with most of your post, but I think this bit completely underestimates Mccall's part in firstly getting the most out of players and secondly getting them playing together. When we signed Higdon and Sutton, did any of us see them as 20+ goals per season players? Did we anticipate that Lasley and Hammell would become the beating hearts of a Motherwell side that finished 3rd, 2nd and 2nd in the league? I doubt it. Mccall's contribution goes far beyond simply having 'high quality players'. Like most on here, I am worried he's ran out of ideas and from the games I've been at this season I actually can't see how we are going to turn this corner, but I think Mccall has done more than enough to be granted more time.

I'm surprised at that. We weren't great by any means but we created 4 or 5 very clear cut chances which is probably equal to the cumulative total for the opening 7 games. It's not pretty football, but if we keep creating chances like that and Sutty and Ainsworth get their shooting boots back on we'll have no trouble scoring.

Do you not think any prospective employer will look beyond this seasons results (it is only September after all) and see that in the previous 3 seasons Stuart Mccall 'out performed' Derek Mcinnes, Jackie Mcnamara (twice), Tommy Wright, Alan Archibald, John Hughes, Allan Johnson, Kenny Shiels (twice), Terry Butcher (twice), Gary Locke, Craig Brown, Derek Adams, Danny Lennon (three times), Pat Fenlon (twice), John Brown, Peter Houston, Jim Jeffries and Paulo Sergio?

I totally forgot Randolph, Higdon, Law and Humphrey all helped us to 2nd last year...

Gutted to go out, but not the worst 15 quid I've spent. We missed 4 or 5 fantastic chances but the positive is in the fact we were making those chances in the first place. Definitely an improved performance from the start of the season, we've got players who can score so once they find their shooting boots I reckon we'll hit a bit of form. Also, some of our support are absolute cretins.

I don't think you are giving enough thought to how long and grueling each season is for a small squad like ours and time it takes to recover physically and mentally. We were back playing competitive football almost 3 weeks before the majority of the other teams in the league. The players will still be carrying wee niggles and we can't afford to risk players when there is still 30 odd games to play. A squad like ours has got to be very carefully managed.

Exactly. Far too many people on here seem to think over 30 + dip in form = hang up yer boots.

Yep, I thought he was fairly solid at the back. Certainly in the first half he was excellent at stopping crosses coming in from the last and he put in an absolute winner of a last ditch tackle to stop a certain goal. I thought he was left exposed in the second half far to many times, not his fault. Only criticism would be a slight lack of composure when it came to distribution, but I'd put that down to nerves and inexperience.

Not so sure. For the 2012/13 campaign he played 5 very forward thinking players together - Higdon, Ojamaa, Humphrey, Law and Murphy/Faddy/Higginbotham. Hardly guys renowned for their defensive game. Obviously a strong back 4, excellent keeper and Lasley sitting midfield was essential to the gameplan, but you can't say Mccall wouldn't go for the attacking formation if he could.

Absolutely amazing news. I get the concerns about the young guys, but we're absolutely scunnered when it comes to squad depth. Heard on the radio that Dundee United had over 50 registered senior players on Wednesday night, we had under 30. There's a chance Ojamaa may fill a role behind the strikers anyway.

Doing some reading, it looks like he'll be a good addition assuming he stays fit.

If you watch him in pre match warm-ups you'll see him striking the ball as well as anyone in the team. Seems to be able to pick his spot and generate a hell of a lot of power. He's also scored plenty for the u20's and has more than a few screamers* to his name. I've also heard he's one of the physically strongest in the team but I wonder if that bulk has come at the expense of his pace. The potential is certainly there, but he's been on the fringes of the first team for 6 years. 4 different managers haven't given him a regular start yet those 4 different managers have continued to give him chances. *Fantastic goals....

Harsh to say the keeper was a negative considering it was his first game in front of a crowd for months. Aye he made an almighty arse of it but his distribution was great and he pulled off some fantastic stops later in the game. Certainly didn't shy away after his mistake. Agreed about the efforts going forward though. Plenty of possession around the box but we did struggle to create chances for Sutton. I can see why Mccall is after someone with a bit of pace and mobility.

Either way, I'm dreading it. Different club but followed by Rangers Fans Version 2.0 - same pish but with twice as much venom. Not good.

Would be good for us but I think he'll either return to the Parkhead squad or staying on loan in Belgium. Despite being called a lazy c*nt by the Lierse manager it looks like he's also impressed a few other teams over there so might even get a permanent deal. Really can't see a loan move to a Scottish team being on the cards.

Same here, would love it to be true but it's got to be bollocks. No way would he knock back a wage at least 4 times what we can offer and the chance to play in front of crowds 3 and 4 times ours for the sake of moving somewhere that only takes a couple of hours to get to on the train. Lee Clarke reckons it's to get a bigger contract elsewhere.... "Chris Burke will probably go down the same route. We've made him our best offer, but I'd imagine every other club in the Championship is in for him." "Chris is 29," added Clark. " It's his last chance to get a really big contract for him and his family and he deserves it as he's been brilliant."

Is there a reason the club won't disclose the fee? Is it a contractual thing or is it because it might slow down the 'were fucked: buy season tickets' campaign? The club are usually transparent about how shoddy our finances look, I'd like to know how this affects things.