David

Instead of "I agree with MJC..."? Yeah, probably.

I'm not that young either, but I'd also like to think we're leaving behind a solid community club for our children and their children. Football, for the most part, has become the game of the rich and wealthy. Bought up by millionaires, billionaires, and oil-rich nations. With very few exceptions, that is all that football fans of a certain age know. They buy their overpriced English Premiership jersey of choice, pay to have their favourite multi-millionaire mercenary's name added to the back of it, and watch their team on their large 4K telly in surround sound. Motherwell and clubs like us are different. When I go to a game with a young family member, their heroes can be accosted outside Fir Park for a photo, autograph, and a chat. Our young fans don't need to be happy with briefly seeing their favourite player walk past, head down and headphones on, behind a wall of security as they head into the stadium. Our younger generation can sit in the season ticket seat that our father or grandfather once sat in. For the most part, they can rest assured that they won't be priced out of that, to be replaced with some foreigner who's here on a "football holiday" wearing a half-and-half scarf and paying over the odds to some company that snaps up seats by the tens or hundreds to sell in packages. I like who we are as a club. I like that we employ financial responsibility and don't rely on money from elsewhere. I also like that we are very much community-based. I know that angle gets a lot of slating on here, but I like that our social media account bears the tagline that we exist to improve people's lives. If football doesn't exist to provide value and enjoyment and to improve the lives of those who follow it, then what's the point? To fill the coffers of the wealthy owners? To sell jerseys? We'd all love to win a cup, but I'd honestly much rather we had a fan-owned club that we could be proud of, and that will be there for future generations in a stadium that holds a lot of family memories than anything else. If our fanbase can only afford to support a club that ends up playing in the Championship or even lower, then so be it. I'll still be there, hoping to win the next game and pouring over the stats of our next unknown signing before writing them off and then being proved beautifully wrong as they defy the odds and come good.

It would be a no from me.

You think the players go out there under the belief that they can't win? I don't agree. Most professionals who make it to a level of the sport where they're actually being paid quite well and make a full-time living from the game are rarely the type to be mentally weak. You don't get to even this level of the game without believing you are one of the best out there. Why do you think we see our players consistently leaving for bigger clubs despite the general belief being that they won't get any game time? Sure, the money helps, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find any professional-level footballer who doesn't believe he can reach the heights if only he was given a chance. Belief that they can get a result isn't the issue. The issue is that we don't have the actual quality in our team to do it for the most part. Mentality and belief can only go so far.

As others have mentioned, I think we'll find it incredibly difficult to find anyone, be it a group of investors or an individual, who would be willing to throw their money into a project without having control over said project. Add in the fact that the controlling interest isn't being held by a fellow wealthy individual or group with experience in business, but a large swathe of what can only be termed as non-business savvy individuals for the most part. What group or individual is going to find that an attractive proposition? Outwith a rich Motherwell fan who simply wants to burn some money helping a club he or his ancestors supported, I don't see it as being feasible. We can't have our cake and eat it, so to speak. We either sell up properly and entice a wealthy owner who would be the actual owner, or we continue as is.

I don't think belief is the problem. In the past ten games against Celtic, we've conceded more than three goals only three times, with six of the ten games either finishing a draw, or a win for Celtic by a single goal deficit. So no, it's not about belief. We don't tend to crumble against them. We were unlucky. When a team with less quality plays against a team with more quality, what usually happens is the higher-quality side sees more of the ball. The other side spends most of its time defending and chasing the ball, which is incredibly tiring. That's why you find both Celtic and Rangers scoring a fair amount of goals late on in games. They tend to be able to strike when the opposition is mentally and physically drained from competing with a better side for almost 90 minutes. That happens to any side in that position, by the way. It's not specific to us.

You think "bottle, belief and mentality" would make a real difference against what you admit is a significant gulf in quality?

There's every chance we see a combination similar to that at some point. Devine has only started two games for us so far, and only lasted the full 90 minutes against Hearts. He's seemingly being brought up to match fitness. Casey has played one game in almost two months, so he's got to get back to fitness. I'm thinking that Kettlewell will mix things up a bit when certain players get to match fitness.

Okay, so who do we drop? And who do we replace them with?

Kind of similar results-wise to when Celtic or Rangers play a side with a budget and quality of player that far exceeds theirs, really.

If we're honest, this game will depend on the same factor as every other game against this lot in recent times. How they play. We could be at our absolute best, but if Celtic are in the mood and at the races, there's not much we can really do. The gap in quality is too much, which is something the Scottish media don't really mention much. Unless it's Celtic or Rangers playing Man City, Barcelona, or PSG. Then we hear all about the gulf in quality and financial disparity. So, if we're at our best and Celtic have an off-day we could maybe grab something from them.

Isn't that basically what we see all the time just now?

Settle down. The moderating team deals with issues on the forum. Let's just focus on the game against Hearts in half an hour.

Calm it, Douglas.

He does. But only when it applies to teams who are playing against us.

You think he keeps Paton in games because he is "his wee pal?"

Does any other manager provide full explanations and justifications as to why they substitute certain players in games? Or start with certain players over others?

For some, Kettlewell still being Motherwell manager is in itself controversial.

I'd take a point from this game, but as has been said, Hearts are third for a reason. I don't foresee Ross County getting anything from Dundee, so there is that.

Thing is, when it comes to recruitment, the buck stops with the head of the department. He knows our budget; it's his job to find players in the positions the manager identifies. If he isn't capable, then he needs to be replaced.

I agree with that. What I would say is that if he had all of the other qualities mentioned above, and his weaknesses weren't there, he wouldn't be our manager. I'd wager that the issues he has with in-game management will solve themselves over time. He's still relatively young in the management game.

When you look at our finances, our wage bill, and the size of our crowds, we're pretty much sitting where we should be in the league as it stands. Every season, there's a club or two that punch above their weight for any number of reasons. It could be a good run of squad fitness, a few good signings, or a manager and squad that gel well together. In seasons past, we've been among those clubs, finishing in the top six. We've also watched Livingston do it as well. This season, it's Kilmarnock, St Mirren and Dundee to an extent. In general, the top six clubs in the top flight of Scottish football in any given season should be (in no particular order) Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs, and Dundee United. While we've been performing above what we should be, we've seen Dundee United, Aberdeen, and Hibs regularly underperform. Anywhere from 7th to 12th is really where we could expect to finish in any given season, but we always hope to do better. more importantly, we plan financially to finish 10th and have no cup runs, so anything above and beyond that is a bonus. No, there is something to suggest we'll perform just as well or better than those around us. Form over the past 25 or so games. You can't just dismiss that. As things stand, 25 games into the season, we've won more games than Livingston and Ross County and the same number of games as St Johnstone. Only Rangers, Celtic, Hearts, and Kilmarnock have lost fewer games than we have. We've also scored the most goals out of all the bottom six sides, with only the Old Firm, Hearts and Dundee scoring more. Only St Johnstone has conceded fewer goals than us in the bottom six. So, as things stand, we've won more games than two of our immediate relegation rivals and the same number of games as another, but we have two games in hand on one rival and one in hand on another. We've lost the fewest games in the bottom six, scored the most goals in the bottom six, and only one team in the bottom six has conceded fewer. So yeah, there's a fair bit to suggest that Kettlewell and our squad will perform better or just as well as those around us.

This platform is more finance-driven than player-driven statistics. It's a welcome addition, though, as anything that helps us tighten up our processes across the board is a good thing. It certainly won't be replacing Daws. No software can do that. We're always going to need a Head of Recruitment and a team of analysts. These platforms, and the ones I have messed about with in the past, can provide all the information you need, but someone has to act upon it.

It cannot be argued that Van Veen was a better player when he walked out the door at Fir Park than he was when he arrived. If he were pulling up the same stats and performances before we signed him, he'd have never come to Motherwell in the first place. Spittal is a good player, but again, he's really taken it to a new level this season. I honestly don't see how anyone can look at his body of coaching work while he's been here and claim that Kettlewell has been anything other than very good. Recruitment, how the club is run, finances and all that? Open to criticism, for sure. But Kettlewell is the coach, and while he'll have some say in the positions the team needs filling, he won't be acting as the head of recruitment. We already have a guy and a team for that. I personally think our recruitment process is incredibly flawed, as I've said elsewhere. But the coaching is good enough I think.

The issue I have is that the manager is the one candidate who takes the brunt of failings elsewhere in the club. I was unsure about Kettlewell when he came in, but having had the second half of last season and all of this season to see what he's all about, I think I'd have to say that he's one of the best football coaches in the division. He came in last season and helped Van Veen become a goal machine. Van Veen had 13 goals in 29 games before Kettlewell came in. He got 16 goals in 15 games post-Kettlewell. This is a guy who managed 24 goals in 139 games in League One in England. That works out roughly at a goal every ten games or so. I give the player himself a lot of credit for that, but when you see an uptick in form like that when a new coach comes in with new ideas and a new coaching style, it's usually connected as well. Theo Bair, I don't need to get into. I'm still absolutely astounded at the turnaround in that guy. Before he came here, everything about him suggested he was not a professional-level footballer. His stats, and not just his goalscoring numbers, at other clubs, were laughable in many cases. His xG and so on was abysmal. Throw in the fact that his failure was taking place at levels like the bottom of MLS at a Canadian side who were terrible during that time and the Norwegian second division. At St Johnstone, he looked like a tall, rangy basketball player who was trying to become a footballer. What he's doing now is down to three things - Athletic ability, work ethic, and a very high level of coaching. Blair Spittal has quietly become something of a revelation this season. Again, it's not just down to the coaching, but that's a huge part of it. Paul McGinn has looked better this season than last, and even the likes of Stephen O'Donnell and Harry Paton look like improved players, to some degree, this season. The only blot in the copybook is Liam Kelly, and I'm not sure what can really be done when a keeper hits a bad run of form and makes individual mistakes. That's not all coincidence. It's the kind of team spirit that the manager has created at the club and some really good coaching. Which is why I think we'd be mental to let him go. Yes, there's issues at the club. But for me, the manager and level of coaching are the only thing that's saved us from tail spinning entirely. Sort out the recruitment team and get things in order at the very top, and I think we'd be in good shape.