Well Up For It!

Done. Last one was a very decent read and still bitter that I got to my pre-order just a touch to late to have my name on the cover that I'm wasting no time second time around!

Some folk on here gonna be ragin that we got a win tonight

Tragic news to read, especially at this time of year. Thoughts are with all his family and friends. RIP

9-1 going on 22-1 with the looks of the highlights! Excellent result for the young boys and yet more encouraging news from our youth development.

Baffling

As Big Stall says, very vague, open ended questions. Will be a nightmare to collate. I'd imagine it has been done "in house" to be honest, spending money on a consultant to deliver and pull together a survey of this type makes no sense. On the flip side could provide some insightful opinions and gauge ideas and thoughts from the fan base. Things like this are always a positive step for engagement, although if it were me I would have had a little more meat on the bone. Filled it in anyway and sincerely hope it can all be of value to the club.

We don't get value for money, haven't for years and years. Sad truth is English clubs in Premiership and Championship can charge lower than expected for season tickets as they get an absolute bucket load of TV cash and we don't. Our ticket prices are needed to ensure the clubs survive. Championship clubs get £7million each in TV money per year (plus the £59million parachute payments over four years for anyone unlucky enough to be relegated!) We get £15m total between all leagues and that is horrifically skewed with the Old Firm taking the large chunk of it. For me, the English Premiership have absolutely ruined football for everyone else. They have had a more detrimental impact than Bosman, Sky TV, Champions League, BT Sports, etc. I used to think Sky having to put their subscription up to £70-80 per month would cause folk to leave in their droves causing an implosion of administration and liquidation in the EPL. Now, with BT on the scene I don't imagine it will. As Openreach owns virtually all phone lines in the UK, they can ramp prices of line rental up to help them outbid Sky - have already seen a 40% jump in cost since 2010 - and must folk will have to pay it to access their sub-standard broadband. Definitely the worst act of Thatcher's nationwide privatisation! And if somehow they go tits up, there would be plenty of offers from Arab Emirates, America and China. They are now as big a brand as the World Cup in terms of finances, putting the Champions League to shame. No doubt in my mind that come renewal time in 2019, they will be getting another massive hike on the over £8billion three year deal they already enjoy and ultimately ensure that we are very unlikely to see value for money in the game ever again.

Forget Sevco, this is the story that keeps on giving! Just when I think it's impossible for you to come out with more absurd nonsense, this utter gem appears! Bravo sir, bravo! So email marketing can now tell you about the behaviour of users on this forum? Please elaborate... Probably because your idea, while welcomed, was swiftly dismissed as not viable by the forum mods and people in the know. You have continued to spread your opinion aggressively, insulting other users. Because people have disagreed with you, you are going off on one and you have yet to respond to any rebuttal of your (very) questionable evidence and claims. This in any walk of life discredits you further and turns focus very much onto your comments and the tone and manner you deliver them. Basically, "I'm right and you are all wrong so I will ignore you." Kinda the opposite of a what a forum is supposed to be, no? How have you managed to access data for this forum? And again, please tell me how "behavioural data" about what a user does on a website can be learned from an email? I suspect you just googled "how to sound like I know what I'm talking about with online marketing" and saw this buzz word. Quite clear from the rest of your post you don't quite understand it. Any marketing campaign allows for tracking. You never mentioned it in early parts of this crusade of yours, but I pointed out that it can and it does and the figures are declining year on year. This is a fact. Also, seeing if someone is opening/reading/clicking an email doesn't really tell you much other than they are opening/reading/clicking an email. In terms of your "behavioural data" it basically tells you that someone is prone to opening emails. Bit of poetic license putting these two sentences together, but helps emphasis my point. Do you even read what you post??? This massive contradiction you makes supports the opinions of many on here that you are talking absolute nonsense. You are arguing with yourself and ultimately discrediting everything you say. A double barrelled load of nonsense in this one: How did you check this figure when you don't have admin access to the site? And how can you verify actual users not signing in with no access? As an "internet marketing god" you will of course know that on average 48.5% of all websites traffic to any site was from bots in 2015 and I assume this was taken into account for your figures? Wild tangent alert!! How have you gathered this information for this forum when there hasn't been any email sent out to users past and present?? Again with the insults. Ok for you, but you'll call anyone out who dares question you. I'd be careful.... Maybe Yabba will do what the admins at the Aberdeen forum done in relation to a troll problem they had and post your personal details on the forum for you to be properly found out?! He has explained his username already but this "offensive and stupid" idea must only be in your head. I would also like to add if Yabba's Turd is indeed the village idiot, that really doesn't bode well for you and your standing in the Steelmenonline Community. Village garbage bin if you are lucky. It simply isn't, sorry. Maybe once upon a time before the social media boom it was, but it simple cannot compete with Facebook and Twitter. The fact it is still active is a testament to the team behind it and the regular users who ensure its survival. I think the vast majority of people would think that Yabba and the mods have done a great job here, keeping the site ticking along. A few have said as much in their opinions that you have previously admitted in this spiel that you don't read. Many bigger forums than this have dropped away over the past few years, as forums really are a dying breed. And its this insistence in the all-mighty power of forums that is the fundamental flaw in your argument that tells me, quite clearly, you do not know what you are talking about. End of. Opinions and ideas are always welcome, but your absolutely flogging a dead horse with unsubstantiated nonsense. Feel free to reply answering any of the multiple questions I have posed. While it will no doubt make for more highly entertaining reading, it would be more constructive from your point of view, open up a debate, a discussion rather than rabbit on and on about how your opinion is law and anyone who doesn't agree is an idiot.

Good decision. Fitting tribute to a giant of our club.

Ha ha ha ha ha. 10/10. Would read again! Is that for the world population, the UK or just your Asian troll cabal?? I would like to sign up to an email notification for all things CMWellFan posts! Absolutely comedy gold. He will be back in the UK quicker than expected with the size of the hole he is digging himself on the pacific coast!

So true. A lesson I really have issues learning. The sad thing is this is the 3rd time this season they have been the only team to bust my coupon! Officially on banned list!

This. 100% Given he took us to a very unexpected top 6 finish last year, he has until Christmas before any calls for him to go can be justified. Even more so when the league is so tight. That all said, things need to be consistently better.

Brutal. Even worse is I stuck on a 10 team £1 coupon today at 795/1 and Motherwell are the only one letting me down! Double shite.

I'm sure with Slane it was a case of his old man who was a through and through sellic man. Was the worst possible move he could make. Also think McCart needs to soldier some blame for breaking the gentlemans agreement and poaching him, then not helping him out as he was clearly a very troubled young man going through some horrific injuries. Sadly, not the first time that this will happen and will happen again. As Weeyin said, hard work and professionalism is paramount, as is the right guidance and advice. It is quite a tragic tale.

Fixed it for you...

For me, their is no doubting Forbes had the ability. His weakness was always his engine and I don't think he has ever looked fit. Wether that is just his natural level or its down to a lack of application, I'm not sure. A fit, mobile player with Forbes ability would have been a superstar for any team in the league.

As a first piece of business under fan-ownership, couldn't have wished for better! Great news all rounds. Young Cadds has the making of a very special player that will hopefully one day get us a decent fee to support the fan-ownership model. Just hope its not for a wee while yet!

Agreed. The fundamental problem with any forum is it is being crowded out by social media. When Steelmenonline launched I think a few folk would have had MySpace and Bebo, which in terms of todays social media, are absolute dinosaurs. Facebook can do everything a forum can and then some. Twitter makes forums redundant as you can communicate with a much larger audience, albeit with only 140 characters. Periscope, podcasts, Youtube, Instagram, WhatsApp, SnapChat, etc, etc are all competing for folks attention and ultimately driving the people away from forums. Not only that, but news has evolved where we live in a click-rate culture and as such more and more sites are popping up and overloading us with news. As such, the club has to be on the ball in releasing news, and to all intent purposes, they are at the top of their game in utilising the tools at their disposal (although the Well Society could really up their game). Added all together, these things have seen the once vibrant compost corner all but die away. The only USP of the forum is the club we all love and the fact that despite what many may think, there is a community feel on here with many long term active posters. How do you solve it? If you come up with the answer I'm sure you would be a millionaire. A more active social media presence would help, driving folk back here with links, etc. A news section would also maybe help. But these things take time and effort and the fundamental question is do we want to see this place go down the click-bait path to pull in more of an audience in the hope they sign up? As for CMWellFans email marketing points, an email subscription with updates (which is actually already available) won't do a thing to increase traffic, and would actually in all likelihood turn folk away. Think Yabba touched on it earlier, the next evolution of this site would be to take it onto a mobile app that is more user friendly and accessible. Other than that, it would be to take it onto a social media platform like Facebook - but if any of you are part of the Well fans II group on there right now you will see what a utter cesspit of trolling and nonsense it has already become. Personally? The only thing that I would look to change is the sheer amount of negativity on here that has driven away many posters over the years. But realistically thats an even harder task! The world is evolving, social media and technology are progressing at an alarming rate that when you break it down, it really is a credit to the team here that this site is still as active as it is, as the forum platform is definitely fighting a losing battle. Bearing in mind our match day attendances are way down on 5-10 years ago which is also another reason the forum has suffered a loss in active members.

OK, I'll bite... First of all your article is more than 18 months old using figures a further year old. It argues that email marketing is still relevant not that it is "easily number one by a country mile". It is still relevant, but has been on a steady decline year on year for the past decade. Ironically, your link is from a site pedalling email marketing solutions so you have essentially shared a skewed, biased sales pitch to support your argument. No doubt found from a google search. Since you are an amazing internet guru you will know that email marketing can be tracked. Depending on the industry, you will be looking at a 6-11% average open rate for non-subscribed users, and 27-36% for subscriber users. Click rates for the former are below 1% on average, with the later only at 4%. If we only had something that could let users who want info emailed to them to keep them up to date like an RSS feed or that that they could opt in too?! And you are very much mistaken if think you don't need someones permission to "subscribe them" to your email. You can make it part of any sign up but by law must include an opt out. Sending unsolicited marketing emails can (and often does) lead to fines for the business. I hate to burst your bubble, but I know for a fact a lot of folk on here do know exactly what they are talking about when it comes to this matter. I have worked in various marketing roles over the last 12 years, at an executive level for the past four. I'm CIM accredited, I do freelance work in digital marketing solutions and have even lectured on digital marketing on numerous occasions. Fair to say it's my bread and butter. And all that experience tells me your are talking absolutely nonsense! You have had an idea that you are desperately trying to justify by frantically googling and digging yourself deeper. Put the shovel down and move onto your next crusade.

Either your mates haven't got an absolute clue what they are talking about or your are talking utter shite. Going for the latter.

All valid points. Would add that following on from our "glory years" of repeated European competition and finishing second, there was so much, in the politest possible way, ultra negative pish spouted on here on a daily basis. I'm generally of the consensus that the a large proportion (would maybe go as far as to call it a majority) of our fans are absolute doom merchants, desperate for the next bad result, performance, club news, etc so they can jump on the "See...told you so!" This stuff with McGhee midweek is a perfect example of it, calling for him to be sacked 10 games into the season is madness giving the very unexpected top 6 place he lead us too last season. I'm personally not on here as often, and when I am, each visit gets shorter and shorter due to this plague of negativity and its evident it has scared away many regular posters over the years. Sadly, it has also played a part in pushing me away from Fir Park, with me almost making as many away games as home games over the past few years due to the utter nonsense you hear from "fans" during games (although the main reason is I now live a trek away from Fir Park, so logistics are an issue at times especially with unusually kick off times/midweek games) This negativity is also evident on the Facebook groups that are also to blame for the reduction in traffic on football forums. At the end of the day, we are a very small provincial club on par with the likes of St Mirren, Kilmarnock, Ayr, Dunfermline, Falkirk, etc and yet we have constantly punched harder and lasted the test of time longer than any others of our size. I absolutely love our little diddy team, and even though there has been many, many times when watching them has left me deflated, angered, enraged, confused, bewildered, etc I don't wear that as badge to go on a self-righteous crusade on an online forum preaching how I with my experience of watching football know so much better than all the "idiots" who have spent their life working in the game. Sure, have your opinion and argue your case but so many of our fans (and particular on here at times) think they have all the answers, are always right and are not happy unless they have campaign against someone. However, I wouldn't change a thing over my 30 years supporting Motherwell - its been a drama fuelled roller coaster ride. The last decade has certainly spoilt us, and maybe that has intensified the deep lingering negativity now things aren't as rosy as what they once were.

My bad - was Hendry I was thinking of. The guy that came from Spurs. I always thought that was one of our biggest ever transfer fees.

Did we not pay around £500k for Andy Roddie?? One of the worst players I have ever seen in claret & amber.

I always though Stevie McMillan was a solid LB. Played over 150 games for the club and was very consistent for me, always steady and assured. Definitely earned his move to Wigan and by all accounts had a good few seasons before injury ravaged him.

Just out of curiosity, is there not FIFA rules on the time periods of contracts that can be dished out depending on age?