Welldaft Mk1

You conveniently forget about the lucky penalty v Livi. The performance and fluky result v St Mirren. You remind me of my golf. Moan about the bad bounces and forget about the time I hit a tree and landed in the middle of the fairway ! We are lucky to have 9 points. So will take that. Agree v United. Likely they will lose or certainly not win v Celtic. So will come to Fir Park looking for 1st league win. We need a few decent additions this week. Crucial if we want to kick on.

As I posted on P&B. We have 9 points. When in reality we only deserve 7 points or probably only 6. So there is that positive. Better to win one lose one in this league. Morris is not on Hammell. But he really has not delivered anything other than utter mediocrity. This result only strengthens the need for a few quality additions. A forward to compete with Van Veen and that is not Efford or Shields. A commanding CB that can defend crosses. Hopefully we can move on a couple to create space as well. Disappointing but better to win one lose one in this league. Lucky to beat Livi last weekend with a non penalty. A draw last week and draw this week and we would probably b OK with that but have one less point……..trying to cheer myself up with that logic :-)

The Board was fully aware of the strength of feeling of the fans re performances. They are fans themselves ! However you could not realistically fire a Manager who got you top 6 and into Europe. But I believe he would have been a goner end of last season had he not achieved Europe and indeed had we lost all our top 6 games. Sligo was painful but it may turn out to be a blessing if this is indeed a new dawn….

Given the apparent paucity of options I am quite pleased with this appointment. We got out of jail with 3 points v St Mirren. We deserved a point at least against St Johnstone. I cannot speak to the St Mirren as I was not there, but I already saw positives in the St Johnstone game despite the result. We were on the front foot for most of the 2nd half and I saw more football trying to be played than in the previous few months +. He cannot be blamed for the 2nd goal. That is squarely on our inept defence. I already saw someone saying he needs to finish top 6 to match Alexander. Technically correct, but gives you a backdrop to the unrealistic expectations of our fan base. Right now I would take more appealing football and 10th place as long as the mid to longer term starts to takes shape. Of course he is inexperienced. But then so is every successful Manager who starts out. He speaks well about our current status and clearly impressed the Board more than any other applicant. Helps being a Well legend but he gets my 100% backing.

Take what you want re ODonnells comments but it is hardly news that a Manager does not get along with some players. Happens in every workplace. You get on with some and not with others. What I would say if he was a great Man Manager then this possibly could have been managed a bit better but it appears and was reported that he was quite a stubborn man. I trust the Board to make the right appointment for now. Say what you want about Alexander he got us away from relegation and into Europe. Yes he has left us with a bit of a mess in terms of current squad. But he did what he was paid to do. In fact probably overachieved based purely on eventual outcome last season. We still need to try and move a handful of players on and bring in minimum 4 to 5 players who will add quality to the team. I suspect this may be a major factor on who gets the job. Whether someone can come in and say I know players that can come into CB, LB that Motherwell could afford. Not saying this necessarily rules Hammell out but it probably cannot help his cause. I still see someone coming in and Hammell becoming assistant. The defence needs sorted pronto. The winning goal on Saturday is all that is wrong. Unable to deal with a straightforward lump into the box. Not only that making the situation worse. Then you have SODs rushing towards a player when the ball is head height and the likes of Mugabi ball watching instead of picking up St Johnstone key and most dangerous striker. Genuinely a video on how not to defend !!!

I am not saying Hammell should definitely get the job. But those writing him off after today are well wide of the mark. Embarrassingly so. Is he a fuckin miracle worker ? Serious Q. Because clearly many on here think the pile of shite Alexander left us with should turn into prime Barcelona after a week and a half. I noticed a big improvement on Sligo. Not hard to be fair but we tried to play football. Second half we were the better team and should have had one penalty for sure for the rugby tackle on Sol. Hammell cannot be blamed for the comedy defending on 94 minutes. He made substitutes at HT. Taking of an ineffectual Maguire and Morris was the right call. Alexander would never have done that. Also made the correct subs later in the game. Tierney was underwhelming sadly. Taking the anger out of the late capitulation I think Hammell has done a good job so far.

I tend to agree. I would like a Manager that would be happy and grateful to get the Motherwell job. Even as a stepping stone. Already you can sense by his comments that he considers himself above the role to even bother applying. Not an encouraging sign imho.

Worth pointing out that Viking are 17 league games into their season. So had played 19 competitive matches before tonight ! Does not take away from our insipid displays and under preparation but no chance Sligo were catching Viking cold…..

That we are agreed on. I was in Sligo and the abuse at the Manager and players was OTT. The high (low) point came when a fan launched a foul mouth verbal tirade at Liam Kelly for a full on two minutes during the 2nd half. Kelly was clearly at a loss how to react other than to roll his eyes and hold his arms up. Their reaction if told to shut up is usually to threaten physical abuse or as some sadly witnessed actual physical abuse !!

Not sure I understand this comment. Unless everyone is lying most Managers and players I recall have said this is a very stable club with a supportive Board. Finances tend to dictate overall and we simply don’t have the budget to get the better or best Managers or players. The reality is that as a result most of the players we bring to the club will not be a Moult, Kipre, Marv Johnson. Probably one in 7-10 players will have that impact or probably even lower odds.

Not sure our support are really that much worse than any other. In saying that I thought a fair % were quick to turn on the Manager and team on Thursday night. Maybe a large quantity of alcohol and sunshine was let’s say toxic mix….. The performances were woeful no doubt but to sing you are getting sacked in the morning before HT was simply sh1te. Also fans turning on fans with physical and verbal abuse was well out of order but hardly surprising when you witness ageing casuals trying to relive their formative years. It was time for Alexander to go and maybe it was the fans behaviour that helped move it along but I still felt a number of our supporters were bang out of order last week.

It won’t. Record making up shit as they go along. Hoping for another Manager akin to Robinson and Alexander in that they both did a good job for initial 12 months + We should get a fair amount of applications from far and wide. As I said over on P&B we need someone who can motivate and man manage players effectively. Something I am not sure Alexander was good at. Judging by comments and rumours mostly unfounded it must be said. Also someone that is capable of shaking things up and changing tactics and formations to suit the playing squad and opposition. Not sticking to a rigid formation and approach even if it is self evident it is not working ! A lot to ask for but that type of person would fit the bill just nicely.

All Managers have a shelf life. Even the most successful ones. Alexander is only a handful of months away from being two years at the club. At Hibernian that would be considered long serving. He will leave eventually. A case of when not if. The reason he is still here is that he has met and in fact overachieved the clubs targets and objectives. I know many Managers (in my working life) that were grade A arseholes but were still in a job because they got results. No one is accepting mediocrity. If we lose on Thursday and / or the 1st half dozen or so leagues games. He will be gone. So I would not get too worried about that. What you should be worried about is who replaces him and if they will be any better. I don't dislike the guy so I would prefer it if he turns it around starting with this coming Thursday. I have the same concerns as everyone else. Recognising that certain positions needed strengthening long before this season starts. Recognising that if we play the same formation and largely the same players should we be surprised if the performances and results don't change from the 2nd half of last season. I am not saying that he should do this or that. That is up to the Manager to decide. But I suspect we will see the same starting 11 on Thursday (maybe the odd change) and same tactics / formation and sadly I believe a similar outcome. I would actually love to see something a little different. If we lose then I would almost accept that we tried something. I am not a fan of his interviews either. You don't have to slate the team or individuals. Just admit we did not play to our best. The players are still not match sharp. The were too laboured in their build up etc etc. That the fans would understand and live with that. I know he will come out and say we don't need to win this game in the 1st 20 minutes. In fact I think he already has. Now he may b saying something different to the players but that rankles with me. We need to start with an intent and purpose on Thursday otherwise it will be like last Thursday and a long evening !

By all accounts he may have been gone at the end of last season if things had worked out differently. The Board are fully aware of the fans discontent and the quality of performances. It won’t take much for them to act if we get knocked out by Sligo and lose any number of winnable league games and league cup ties. I feel as do most of us that we should have been better prepared for last Thursday. The match fitness was always going to be in Sligo favour but to have only two bounce games / friendlies is criminal. I heard other teams pulled out but one wonders if we were playing say Sparta Prague in this round we would have made sure we were in better shape. So yes probably an element of underestimating Sligo. I am heading over next week and I hope to see some changes in the line up. Would like Tierney to start and Mugabi benched as they will rightly target him from the off. My concern is that as we have seen all too often we will change very little and hope for a different result. I hate comments like the game does not need to be won in the 1st 10-15 minutes. No it does not. But we should at least try to win the game or turn it around from the off. If we start pedestrian then it is hard to change up a gear. Alexander has delivered top 6 by skin of the teeth. Delivered Europe by some good luck (Ross C penalty) and Hearts team that little to play for. He and the players do deserve some credit. I just get a feeling his luck will run out next week. Hope I am wrong of course. The pressure and expectation is now on Sligo at home. Let’s see how they cope. In 2014 they were 3-1 up on aggregate v Rosenborg after 18 minutes (Won 2-1 in Norway) and went on to lose 4-3 at home. That match still haunts the Sligo fans. Let’s hope it is another repeat and same outcome.

Well if McGinn is injured then I also expect SODs to be a starter. I also expect Spittal to start. So who either Mugabi or Sol to partner Lamie. Also either Morris or Efford will start or both,

To an extent some people don't like anything. They are perma miseries / glass half empty types. That is down to personalities and outlook on life. I see quite a few on here who hardly post anything positive regardless who the Manager is and what the results are. That is unlikely to change. I try to be more balanced and base my thoughts on a Managers performance based on whether we over achieve (top 6, Europe, Cup Finals) or under achieve when getting knocked out early in cups or fighting relegation. The one Manager I do recall disliking a lot was Malpas. McGhee, McCall, Robinson and Alexander have all done a reasonably good job for the most part.

Knowing us most probably. My principal fear is they are midway through their season and we have played effectively two bounce games. All that said Bala Town are in pre season and should probably have won over the two legs. Sligo also lost to the bottom team 2-0 at home and whilst they may have rotated the squad a little their fans were / are far from happy. Bearing in mind UCD had won only 1 game out of 22 prior to beating Sligo. So morale cannot be high at this moment in time. We need to start on the front foot and let Sligo know they are in for a tough night. Losing to Mypa and Stjarnan was poor form although both games were very close. The reality is losing to Sligo over two legs would be the worst Euro result in our history. If we are calm and composed and play anywhere near our potential we should be too strong for them.

What a rather shite draw truth be told. We got lucky geographically at least with the next tie but that is a real kick in the haw maws. Sparta Prague would be great but we would be gubbed. The Macedonian side are the lowest ranked seeds. But would anyone b surprised if we ended up with FK Astana of Kazakhstan:-(

No offence GazzyB but where have you been. UEFA states we only are entitled to 5% of capacity which is 180 tickets. The away section at Sligo is approx 370 tickets. There was always going to be a scramble ! If I had to guess I would say 1200-1500 applications which means a 1 in 4 or 5 chance of getting a ticket. Not great odds. Let’s see what happens but I think there may be a few day trippers in the home end…..

You are obvs a novice. This will never catch on. On this forum player signings are either varying degrees of underwhelming, poor or utter shite. You pick one of those 3 you will fit in well.

Ah well just as well u r not in charge of the budget Steelboy. I am assuming Sadio Mane is waiting to announce he is signing for Motherwell. Or is it that our budget can afford Blair Spittal and not Mane ? Just an observation.

That is fine and every signing we make will no doubt split opinion. Nathan McGinlay apart…. But since Motherwell fans hardly rate any player highly I take it as an encouraging sign that opposition fans are sorry to lose him and had expected him to do better than Motherwell.

Interesting take. Ross County fans rated him highly. The Terrace podcast had him in their top12 attacking midfielders this season. One of the few non old firm players. Along with Ross Tierney as it happens. Neither of the hosts were or are Well fans or Ross County fans. So not vested interest. That top he is wearing. What a belter. That will sell out in record time.

Quote from Ross County fan above on P&B. No offence to the Spittal nay sayers such as Yodo but I would rather take the views of the fans of the team targeted player played for. Ross County have a similar or even bigger budget than we have. So if we are able to take one of their better players I am all for it. I will say it again like I do every season. Our budget dictates who and who we cannot go after and afford to buy. Spittal may well have other offers like Lamie but I would be happy if he ended up with us. Certianly on his day he would be better than the departed OHara and Donnelly imho.