Baraclough Out

[Shaka]

Bara was ridiculed and rightly so! We had a run of 1pt in 24 and at that time he looked and sounded so far out his depth its untrue. He has done well to START turning things round,he needs to finish the job and keep us out the bottom two before people start with the back slapping and told you so's.

 

I feel a lot has to do with the assistant as well. Its actually strange to see us able to perform over 90 mins and is weird to see us set up for attacking corners and free kicks,we look like we have a plan and look organized and professional instead of the pub team style stand around and hope the ball drops on your head/foot.

 

Bara has been backed hugely in the transfer market,backed in the coaching and organization,anything other than 10th or higher is failure and jotters for me

[star sail]

It's a bit early to start patting each other on the back about the wisdom of appointments.

 

There's still a long way to go and a lot of hard work needed before we are safe from relegation.

 

Using that basic principle, it was a bit too early back in January for yourself and others to be calling for his head. Also even if we do get relegated I think that Baraclough has already gone a long way to deserving to stay with the club next year.

 

1 point from a possible 24. Not many managers survive that, no matter the circumstances. So I don't find it difficult at all to understand why folk wanted rid.

 

Absolutely delighted he has turned us around. Let's just hope it's not all in vain.

 

That statistic in isolation does indeed sound poor but it does not take any account of the circumstances Baraclough faced at that time. You are right, not many managers do survive that but this says more about the unhealthy culture in football to sack managers on a whim and gives credence to our board who could look beyond the headlines at the set of circumstances that prevailed.

[Andy_P]

Bara was ridiculed and rightly so! We had a run of 1pt in 24 and at that time he looked and sounded so far out his depth its untrue. He has done well to START turning things round,he needs to finish the job and keep us out the bottom two before people start with the back slapping and told you so's.

 

I feel a lot has to do with the assistant as well. Its actually strange to see us able to perform over 90 mins and is weird to see us set up for attacking corners and free kicks,we look like we have a plan and look organized and professional instead of the pub team style stand around and hope the ball drops on your head/foot.

 

Bara has been backed hugely in the transfer market,backed in the coaching and organization,anything other than 10th or higher is failure and jotters for me

 

Whether you intend it to read as much I don't know, but you almost appear to be implying that everything that happened on the shocker of a run was down to Baraclough but almost everything in the recent turnaround has been in spite of the manager.

 

Evidently you're not a fan of his.

[Pepper]

That statistic in isolation does indeed sound poor but it does not take any account of the circumstances Baraclough faced at that time. You are right, not many managers do survive that but this says more about the unhealthy culture in football to sack managers on a whim and gives credence to our board who could look beyond the headlines at the set of circumstances that prevailed.

 

That's the thing though, most fans don't take all of the circumstances into consideration. I'll quite happily hold my hands up and admit I'm guilty of it. Though when a new manager comes in most folk expect a least some sort of a reaction but we actually looked worse, a lot worse. If he had lost the home game against ICT he would have gone and rightly so IMO, certainly not on a whim.

 

My biggest fear was that we had employed someone who simply talked a good game. At least now we are beginning to see that there might just be some substance behind the nice chat.

 

Onwards and upwards!

[Ya Bezzer!]

 

Whether you intend it to read as much I don't know, but you almost appear to be implying that everything that happened on the shocker of a run was down to Baraclough but almost everything in the recent turnaround has been in spite of the manager.

 

Evidently you're not a fan of his.

 

I think it's fairly obvious that Pearson and McDonald have turned us round, rather than Baraclough. If those guys hadn't joined I doubt very much we'd be on the run of good form that we are.

 

I'm speculating because I don't know anything for sure but I think there was some player resistance to changes Baraclough made and perhaps the dressing room didn't have confidence in him, as a minor name in the game, but with things turning round now the camp is probably a lot happier and less fractious. That gives Baraclough a chance to win over the players and prove his coaching methods.

 

I said elsewhere that I think Baraclough changed too much too soon. We won his first two matches, and had found a wee bit of form before under Kenny Black. There was no need to make the drastic changes that Baraclough made in almost one foul swoop. He should have got us out of the relegation zone first before he changed the whole regime at the club. It was a foolhardy and reckless thing to do and we may well still pay the price for that terrible spell through January/February. He got his priorities wrong in my opinion and was far to eager to put his stamp on the club. That's raging ego at play there.

 

Despite the up turn in form we remain the favourites to go into the play offs and perhaps even to be relegated since we will likely face Rangers. However I would personally give Baraclough a second chance depending on our performances post split and if we do finish 11th, in the play offs. If we maintain something like the form of the past month or so I think it would be a harsh axe that fell on his head. However if we tail off or fail with a whimper in a play off then I think you'd have to assess it on the next 6/8 performances.

[Andy_P]

Who signed Pearson and McDonald? You're not going to suggest to me it was all down to Flow and Baraclough had no say whatsoever in it are you?

 

Drastic changes? Like changing training routines to get the players fitness levels up? Like giving Thomas his debut and regular starts for Erwin? Changes of which we are seeing clear benefits now.

 

Look, I think he's got plenty wrong and the jury is still out. On that I can't disagree, but do think it a bit unfair to suggest that everything that went wrong before is solely on him yet he has had minimal influence on the recent turnaround. That to me i a bit skewed in thinking.

[steelboy]

Pearson and McDonald signed because their mates are here. Signing internationalists with Champions League experience is an easy decision for any Motherwell manager.

[Ya Bezzer!]

Who signed Pearson and McDonald? You're not going to suggest to me it was all down to Flow and Baraclough had no say whatsoever in it are you?

 

Drastic changes? Like changing training routines to get the players fitness levels up? Like giving Thomas his debut and regular starts for Erwin? Changes of which we are seeing clear benefits now.

 

Look, I think he's got plenty wrong and the jury is still out. On that I can't disagree, but do think it a bit unfair to suggest that everything that went wrong before is solely on him yet he has had minimal influence on the recent turnaround. That to me i a bit skewed in thinking.

 

Well I hope Baraclough had the final say as that should be the managers perogative but Pearson and McDonald where signed due to a number of factors including the chairmans beneficence and the fact that both players had ties to the club. And the point remains that I find it highly doubtful that without Pearson and McDonald we would have turned round. Alternative histories and all that but it remains my opinion.

 

As for fitness levels, I'm sick to death of hearing about them. Sure, we started the season unfit due to the pathetic pre-season instigated by McCall but that was not the problem outside of August. The people that go on about fitness on this forum are the same people that said Lasley was finished and should be put out to pasture. The simple fact of the matter is if you have mental energy, you have physical energy. If, on the other hand, you are getting humped ever week, there are tensions in the dresssing room, people are making bad mistakes, you can't seem to get a lucky break, and you are down the bottom of the league, well, guess what Einsteins, it don't look good on the pitch. Most of us have played the game even if it was only school football or boys club level. No one remember the old lead boots when you went 3-0 down or you are on a bad run and the opposition scores first?

 

Look at Accies, when they blow us away was that fitness or confidence? When we put 4 past them, was that fitness or confidence? Get your head around this. There are no unfit professional footballers, outside of players coming back or playing through injuries, getting regular football in this league. It's impossible.

 

Not addressing Andy P in particular here in case he thinks I'm attacking him personally, this is a general point. In future anyone going on about fitness should go into sports science details as to what our training regime was, why and what was wrong, explain why we've gone through probably the most successful sustained spell for the club since the 1950's using it and then go into detail as to why the new training regime is better, why and what benefits we can expect from it. Or you could stop grasping for incredibly simplistic answers and just belt up about something you know absolutely nothing about! I'll reiterate the point - looking unfit and being unfit are too very different things and team confidence is the single biggest factor in this league where most teams are of pretty much the same standard.

 

Anyway, back to the point, I think Baraclough is a fairly inexperienced manager, with all due respect to Scunthorpe and Sligo, Motherwell is a totally different level of football from the stature of the players he's dealing with on a daily basis, to the hugely increased media interest and the standard of football and opponent. I think he's made a lot of mistakes and, lets be honest about this, skirted very close to losing the fans and therefore his job. He's taken risks that may relegate us. However he may well grow into the role and there are a few signs he may be doing so. I want to see us maintain a level of performance and if we continue to improve, play good football and win matches even if we are relegated, my view would be 'Do I feel positive about Baraclough getting us up again?', rather than 'He put us down, fire him'.

 

Overall, I think that's a pretty even handed view to take.

[rambunctious]

As for fitness levels, I'm sick to death of hearing about them. Sure, we started the season unfit due to the pathetic pre-season instigated by McCall but that was not the problem outside of August. The people that go on about fitness on this forum are the same people that said Lasley was finished and should be put out to pasture. The simple fact of the matter is if you have mental energy, you have physical energy. If, on the other hand, you are getting humped ever week, there are tensions in the dresssing room, people are making bad mistakes, you can't seem to get a lucky break, and you are down the bottom of the league, well, guess what Einsteins, it don't look good on the pitch. Most of us have played the game even if it was only school football or boys club level. No one remember the old lead boots when you went 3-0 down or you are on a bad run and the opposition scores first?

 

Look at Accies, when they blow us away was that fitness or confidence? When we put 4 past them, was that fitness or confidence? Get your head around this. There are no unfit professional footballers, outside of players coming back or playing through injuries, getting regular football in this league. It's impossible.

 

Not addressing Andy P in particular here in case he thinks I'm attacking him personally, this is a general point. In future anyone going on about fitness should go into sports science details as to what our training regime was, why and what was wrong, explain why we've gone through probably the most successful sustained spell for the club since the 1950's using it and then go into detail as to why the new training regime is better, why and what benefits we can expect from it. Or you could stop grasping for incredibly simplistic answers and just belt up about something you know absolutely nothing about! I'll reiterate the point - looking unfit and being unfit are too very different things and team confidence is the single biggest factor in this league where most teams are of pretty much the same standard.

 

Anyway, back to the point, I think Baraclough is a fairly inexperienced manager, with all due respect to Scunthorpe and Sligo, Motherwell is a totally different level of football from the stature of the players he's dealing with on a daily basis, to the hugely increased media interest and the standard of football and opponent. I think he's made a lot of mistakes and, lets be honest about this, skirted very close to losing the fans and therefore his job. He's taken risks that may relegate us. However he may well grow into the role and there are a few signs he may be doing so. I want to see us maintain a level of performance and if we continue to improve, play good football and win matches even if we are relegated, my view would be 'Do I feel positive about Baraclough getting us up again?', rather than 'He put us down, fire him'.

 

Overall, I think that's a pretty even handed view to take.

Preaching to the choir ma man

[steelboy]

I don't agree with that. Lasley came back in the summer looking overweight and it took him until near enough November to get up to speed. We've seen the difference slimming down made to guys like McGarry and a Paterson.

 

When you are losing every physical match up across the field you are going to lose most games. McDonald looks the thinnest he's ever been, Laing is a beast and Marvin Johnson, Pearo and Erwin look like athletes in a way that Vigurs never has.

[star sail]

 

Well I hope Baraclough had the final say as that should be the managers perogative but Pearson and McDonald where signed due to a number of factors including the chairmans beneficence and the fact that both players had ties to the club. And the point remains that I find it highly doubtful that without Pearson and McDonald we would have turned round. Alternative histories and all that but it remains my opinion.

 

As for fitness levels, I'm sick to death of hearing about them. Sure, we started the season unfit due to the pathetic pre-season instigated by McCall but that was not the problem outside of August. The people that go on about fitness on this forum are the same people that said Lasley was finished and should be put out to pasture. The simple fact of the matter is if you have mental energy, you have physical energy. If, on the other hand, you are getting humped ever week, there are tensions in the dresssing room, people are making bad mistakes, you can't seem to get a lucky break, and you are down the bottom of the league, well, guess what Einsteins, it don't look good on the pitch. Most of us have played the game even if it was only school football or boys club level. No one remember the old lead boots when you went 3-0 down or you are on a bad run and the opposition scores first?

 

Look at Accies, when they blow us away was that fitness or confidence? When we put 4 past them, was that fitness or confidence? Get your head around this. There are no unfit professional footballers, outside of players coming back or playing through injuries, getting regular football in this league. It's impossible.

 

Not addressing Andy P in particular here in case he thinks I'm attacking him personally, this is a general point. In future anyone going on about fitness should go into sports science details as to what our training regime was, why and what was wrong, explain why we've gone through probably the most successful sustained spell for the club since the 1950's using it and then go into detail as to why the new training regime is better, why and what benefits we can expect from it. Or you could stop grasping for incredibly simplistic answers and just belt up about something you know absolutely nothing about! I'll reiterate the point - looking unfit and being unfit are too very different things and team confidence is the single biggest factor in this league where most teams are of pretty much the same standard.

 

Anyway, back to the point, I think Baraclough is a fairly inexperienced manager, with all due respect to Scunthorpe and Sligo, Motherwell is a totally different level of football from the stature of the players he's dealing with on a daily basis, to the hugely increased media interest and the standard of football and opponent. I think he's made a lot of mistakes and, lets be honest about this, skirted very close to losing the fans and therefore his job. He's taken risks that may relegate us. However he may well grow into the role and there are a few signs he may be doing so. I want to see us maintain a level of performance and if we continue to improve, play good football and win matches even if we are relegated, my view would be 'Do I feel positive about Baraclough getting us up again?', rather than 'He put us down, fire him'.

 

Overall, I think that's a pretty even handed view to take.

I don't agree with much of what you say. The fitness issue is of great importance. Maybe unfit is the wrong word to use to describe a professional football player (although Kris Boyd comes to mind) but in a league like ours where every advantage has to be maximised, small improvements in fitness can make the difference.

 

When 5000m runners line up for a race, they are all fit but then take somebody like Mo Farah who has improved every single area of his training regarding nutrition, endurance work, speed work, flexibility, strength etc and you have an athlete that has the edge to win races.

 

Look at Mark McGhee's first season. Many Well fans use Jim Paterson as the example of a player who improved noticeably as the result of a strong fitness regime. Why would Motherwell have invested in a dedicated fitness coach if there is just an acceptance that every pro player is fit?

 

Obviously I have not analysed Motherwell's fitness regimes over the last decade but I will tell you why I do feel that fitness was an issue Jan- December 2014 in particularly. How often did we see a confident Motherwell play well for the first 20-25 mins, often going ahead by a goal or two to eventually hang on for dear life going into the final 10 minutes. I don't have the stats but I would not be surprised if Motherwell had lost more goals in the last 5-10 minutes of games than any senior team UK wide in 2014. The Europa Cup game in the summer was a perfect example of that type of game and that was against a Part- time team.

 

One question I would like to ask from your post as well is what is this long list of mistakes and errors that Baraclough made that you are referring to? I really cannot see where he supposedly got it so badly wrong. If you want me to list what I see as his successes since he came in, I will do so but I am scratching my head to list the catalogue of errors that is being referred to.

[Haggischomper]

Fucking hell, there's nothing quite like Motherwell fans to suck the life out of a good run

[ONeils40yarder]

Is anyone still stalking the players on Twitter to see what food they are eating or do we only do that when the team are getting pumped rotten?

[Andy_P]

As for fitness levels, I'm sick to death of hearing about them. Sure, we started the season unfit due to the pathetic pre-season instigated by McCall but that was not the problem outside of August. The people that go on about fitness on this forum are the same people that said Lasley was finished and should be put out to pasture. The simple fact of the matter is if you have mental energy, you have physical energy. If, on the other hand, you are getting humped ever week, there are tensions in the dresssing room, people are making bad mistakes, you can't seem to get a lucky break, and you are down the bottom of the league, well, guess what Einsteins, it don't look good on the pitch. Most of us have played the game even if it was only school football or boys club level. No one remember the old lead boots when you went 3-0 down or you are on a bad run and the opposition scores first?

 

Look at Accies, when they blow us away was that fitness or confidence? When we put 4 past them, was that fitness or confidence? Get your head around this. There are no unfit professional footballers, outside of players coming back or playing through injuries, getting regular football in this league. It's impossible.

 

Not addressing Andy P in particular here in case he thinks I'm attacking him personally, this is a general point. In future anyone going on about fitness should go into sports science details as to what our training regime was, why and what was wrong, explain why we've gone through probably the most successful sustained spell for the club since the 1950's using it and then go into detail as to why the new training regime is better, why and what benefits we can expect from it. Or you could stop grasping for incredibly simplistic answers and just belt up about something you know absolutely nothing about! I'll reiterate the point - looking unfit and being unfit are too very different things and team confidence is the single biggest factor in this league where most teams are of pretty much the same standard.

 

 

 

Well I can't give you the minute detail you are seeking in terms of fitness YB but we have subsequently employed a Sports Scientist/Performance coach to tackle the issue and I have heard both Les Hutchinson and Baraclough speak directly about it. If folk as high up the tree as those two are speaking about it then I'm quite inclined to believe there was indeed a concern.

 

You would need to go back and listen through the podcast he did with the BytheMin guys but Les Hutchinson clearly referred to the fact his eyebrows were raised that when he came in and saw a training set up that was at best along similar lines to what he'd been involved in as a player thirty years ago. If memory serves me, he went on to make the point that was also made at the AGM that injuries had cost the club a six figure sum in medical bills for operations that were required - the inference pretty clear that things could have been better.

 

Again going back to the AGM Baraclough referred the fact that more preparation work was being done than previous, before the actual training sessions themselves started. There was a focus on strength and conditioning with a much more more of a personal emphasis. From memory there was a mention about yoga being one of the new routines employed with senior players buying into the ideas when seeing the potential benefits of having their careers extended. An ongoing benefit is the signficant reduction in strains, pulls and soft tissue injuries that our players have been receiving.

 

So yeah there's a difference between appearing unfit and actually being unfit. There's also a clear difference between having a player available for selection and as well prepared as he possibly can be to one sitting in the stand injured.

[weeyin]

Is anyone still stalking the players on Twitter to see what food they are eating or do we only do that when the team are getting pumped rotten?

 

The fitness team will be taking care of that.

[Onthefringes]

Is anyone still stalking the players on Twitter to see what food they are eating or do we only do that when the team are getting pumped rotten?

 

Oh, there's a few! Not so prominent on here now mind, but, their creepy behaviour doesn't go unnoticed by those at the club...

[Kmcalpin]

The sports scientist employed by the club is now working far more closely with all the players on a 1:1 basis. What is good for one player may not necessarily be appropriate for another. In general I agree with Andy. Much of this was covered at the AGM.

[Yassin]

Nathan Thomas uses shit emojis.

[Orinoco]

Out of interest. Dundee Utd have not won in 10 games. Looking closer they have only gained one point out of 21 in the league. Pretty shocking how they have collapsed after selling their two players to Celtic.

 

Hamilton have gained only 3 points out of 36 in the league. Now thats a collapse.

[steelboy]

Out of interest. Dundee Utd have not won in 10 games. Looking closer they have only gained one point out of 21 in the league. Pretty shocking how they have collapsed after selling their two players to Celtic.

 

McNamara getting money for the two guys going to Celtic is a strange one. The manager basically gets a bung for the team being weakened while the players are less likely to get bonus money for wins. That surely unsettles the dressing room.

 

From a fans perspective you would be unhappy, especially considering the cup ties and the questionable contribution McNamara made to the players development.

[Orinoco]

McNamara deal on selling players is probably the normal down south. Just need to look at Redknapp down south for shady deals at the expense of the team. Seems for him it was normal to sell players, move club, sign same players to only sell them again, and continue the loop.Of course such a deal being publicised cant help team morale or convince fans that he's looking after utd's interest.

[Mitch]

Biggest problem for me was the lack of fitness in our players.

[ONeils40yarder]

I seen half the Accies squad in Nandos on Friday....fat bastards the lot of them. Wish I had took some photies

[Goggles & Flippers]

Of course such a deal being publicised cant help team morale or convince fans that he's looking after utd's interest.

 

My reading of the leak was the Utd execs (Thomson to be exact) being a bit miffed that McNamara would feel he is entitled to money for GM-S despite having nothing to do with his initial development. Even though it was in his contract I got the impression they felt integrity may have kicked in and he pass on it, so they create a media storm by the use of a leak and hope fan pressure makes the manager turn down the payment in a McCoist £800k a year type scenario.

[sirod78]

The amount of pish that gets spouted on here is incredible. As ever it is sugar or shite.