Welldaft Mk1

Hibs are the other team in for him. It looks less likely he will come back to Motherwell. But anywhere other than Aberdeen please....hopefully it will be too far north for him, like it was for Craig Brown....oh wait a minute.

My preference would be to stick to 12 teams and have 2 relegation places + a play off for another relegation place and perhaps even europe. Truth is a 10 team division means more money for those who remain in the SPL inc of course the old firm. Our attendance and gate money at Fir Park are not enough to sustain the quality of squad we have at the moment (open for debate right now). Money talks and that is why we will see a 10 team SPL. What that will mean for Motherwell is anyones guess but the probability of relegation is more likely. TBH I am probably one of the very few that would prefer a 10 team SPL to a 16 or 18 team league. There are quite a few on here who are moaning about a smaller league, but would be nowhere near Fir Park in April when we are 13th and playing against Morton in 15th. There will be far more meaningless games in an expanded league and less TV money which = poorer Motherwell team IMHO

Quite how the players are spineless gutless fuds escapes me? Sure they have been poor by our early season standards. If you want to vent your anger - aim it at the spineless gutless ex Manager who is in charge at Aberdeen. Players need guidance and hopefully Stuart McCall can provide that. We know what the players are capable of and if they continue to play well below their standard for the remainder of the season then I will agree with you 100%. IMHO I think you are being a tad harsh and hasty in your criticism.

I am surprised to see so many with a view that they would be happy for Blackman to leave. The point above is valid, but Motherwell will struggle to maintain any continuity and long term vision when Managers and players jump ship so readily. We have a fairly short term bursts of focus and strategy and this has led to 3 successive European jaunts. I would rather have what we have had in the past 3 seasons, than a stable Manager and team and finishing in 10th spot year in year out. Blackman has proven he is a quality finisher and I suspect has been more disrupted by Paw Broon jumping ship and Allardice getting the boot, which has led to him not knowing whether he was quite literally staying or going. I hope we get him back. I am not sure why any decision should take so long, unless of course a certain team from up north are trying to entice him or an offer/transfer comes in from A N other club. Hopefully it will be resolved soon so Stuart McCall knows who he needs to replace.

Seems a good enough reason for me. If only there were a few thousand who thought like you who live a little closer to Motherwell Welcome to Steelmen Online.

What is the point of this thread. I mean jesus chr1st. Craigan has his flaws, but then so does John Terry. Our Captain has played for this club for many years and many many matches and given his all. Why do some people feel the need to stick the boot in.....

£150 - You taking a helicopter Pie? Why head to Motherwell 1st and then Dundee??

It is one of life's mysteries how a team that walloped Hearts at Tynecastle a couple of months ago - it was 2-0 going on 5-0 look a pale shadow of that team. I hate to harp on about it but Paw Broon has a lot to answer for. He has disrupted if not ruined our season by his traitorous actions. How else can you explain how Blackman and Humphrey etc have become woeful players almost overnight. I hear he even had a go at Tam Cowan for daring to suggest that he was somewhat a fiickwit by the way he left the club. He may be 71 - but You need a big character to turn this around Does McCall have that - I certainly hope so. At this moment in time I reckon we will do well to finish top 6 and get past Dundee in the cup this weekend.

Absolutely spot on. I assumed this was a 3 o'clock kick ioff. Don't know why when I knew it was on Sky. Surprised it is not 4.20am on Sunday morning Was looking at train times from Edinburgh with a view to getting in to Dundee just before 2pm....TV is killing football.

I would ask why it is taking so long to make a decision either way. The information is obviously there so the bookies tell us, so again why can this not reach a conclusion, rather then drag on and on.

TBH it amazes me that the usual suspects at BBC scotland sports have got a job as a pundit. The only qualification required seems to be an arrogant self centred pr1ck that talks over their colleagues and knows the square root of f#ck all - oh yes and bum licks the old firm managers in no particular order. How Real Radio is worse is a mystery, but a couple of baboons would be better qualified to have a debate on Scottish football. By the way good luck Stuart McCall.

Yeah sometime in the next century........ If I hear them talk about Ricky Ponting once more

TBH from the beginning the club have kept their cards close to their chest so to speak, so the media has been feeding off scraps. That said the McCall rumour seems to be gathering pace. In all honesty I don't know what to expect should he be appointed. That said we could have appointed either Sbragia or MacDonald and it could have ended in tears. At least with McCall he is familiar with Scottish football, knows the English lower leagues and was a passionate player.

It is now reported on Skjy Sports that Penney has NEVER been in Scotland and NEVER been interviewed for the role. This despite many in the media claiming he was in consideration. If it is McCall then whilst not entirely convinced, I hope he can do a Butcher and get us to a CIS final and keep us in the top 6. I still think there is a twist yet

Oh dear

Well since the 6-6 Hibs game was the only home game I missed last season, I have to pass on that I will go along with Special. The Odense trip was terrific, but like all Euro games the result is the one overriding element that makes it OK or extra special. We played well against Odense, but for all that we were looking at a 2-0 defeat and little hope of progressing. Tom Hateley's free kick meant we could really enjoy the evening in Odense + it was a great strike + it was in injury time. Great celebrations for all the travelling dossers

Just as well for us that we got 3 rounds in Europe with combined home crowd of circa 24,000 + UEFA money. Plus a CIS semi. Not forgetting the TV money from the Dundee cup tie. At least an extra £500k in revenue that we don't get in most "normal" seasons. Otherwise things would apparently be disastrous judging by statements on here. I am sure things are tight. Crowds are down, although on % terms not as much as other SPL clubs. If we have budgeted correctly and DO NOT deviate too much then we should be OK. Derek Weir appears to be a steady hand and with his background is financially astute. Just what we need, well apart from a New Manager.

Well if we went back to Sbragia then things are starting to whiff of desperation. Does not say much about the candidates that are left... Stuart McCall does not inspire me at all, although most on here will give any Manager 100% backing for a few minutes at least This phrase from the Sporting Life atricle interested me: "But Motherwell could yet spring a surprise as there is one strong contender on their list whose identity remains a secret". My preference would be for Pat Fenlon of those rumoured to still be in the running.

JG left over a year a go. We are looking for a new manager now. let it go boys.....

SD has not spoken to anyone in the club, yet he knows that Gannon was misrepresented and is in fact Jose mourinho. Plenty of people on this site may not know all the facts, but know enough to acknowledge that Gannon was in danger of doing more damage to the club/team had he stayed. Now it may be these people including myself were being lied to by all and sundry, but I suspect not. FWIW I was delighted we appointed Gannon and said as much before it was official. But please do by all means keep preaching your message - something tells me you will

Apart from the fact he signed some decent players and started well - he was an absolute nightmare that had to be got rid of. I HAVE spoken to people within the club and Gannon was devisive and had appalling man management skills. It is a shame because if he was as good as paw Broon at man management then he probably would be the next Brian Clough. Towards the end he also went AWOL for long periods and could not be contacted by the board. His team selection was bordering on the bizarre and he was even complaining about the quality of his tracksuit...I kid you not But by all means feel free to believe he was/is the messiah and was harshly treated by the club

Reading the wiki managers stats on the previous page of this thread, arguably Penney's stats and experience are MUCH more impressive than either Sbragia and McDonald. He has been Manager for much longer in terms of games and time period. A blip with Oldham last year, but his win record of 27% is still better than the 23% Sbragia managed at Sunderland whilst in charge. Before that he did very well at Doncaster and Darlington with win records well up in the 40% bracket. If he is next in line so to speak let us hope he does not have second thoughts. It may be we end up with the right man after all

We all have problems with No2's every now and then That is the problem with going after a candidate who has been No2 most of the time, like Sbragia and McDonald. They were Assistant Managers for a reason and probably good ones at that. To me the question mark is not necessarily is Motherwell the right club, but more in their own faith and ability to take us forward. Malpas arguably is a good No2 but we know all too well how poor he was was as Boss. Leitch did not have faith in his own ability so followed McGhoo up to Aberdeen. Some people do not have the bottle for the job unless it is gilt edged and comes with the insurance of having money to spend. FWIW I think both could have done a decent job, but I would rather they were honest in their abilities NOW and recognised this is a challenging job and one they do not believe they are up too.

As far as we know no-one has actually been offered the job yet. Was Sbragia offered the job and said no or did he rule himself out after an interview or two. Again has McDonald been offered the job and turned it down. Is it even him that Scott Burns is referring too? One thing is for sure, whetever anyone says the candidates that we are considering probably are of a level that MFC would and could be the biggest if not the best job they could get right now IMHO. Do you think we will see Sbragia managing Aston Villa or Newcastle any time soon? It is no secret that we are not awash with cash, nor are we a particularly well supported club, at least in terms of numbers. There should be little or no surprises for any managerial candidate. That said anyone who watched the game yesterday may be put off, but they should also know we have competed in Europe for past 3 seasons and actually have a half decent squad that if we get the right manager ought to finish in the top 6 this season.

Funny how no-one else knows anything yet this Scott Burns seems to know everything. We have not even had confirmation from anyone I would believe that Sbragia turned us down.