Alexander.

[Great Balls of Shire]

57 minutes ago, David said:

One thing that's worth considering, although I'm perfectly aware that certain people won't, is the Covid situation up until recently.

At the start of the season, Alexander and other managers mentioned the fact that they suddenly had to increase the size of their squads due to the rules around Covid. This didn't mean they had a larger budget to play with though. They found themselves in a position where they had to stretch their current budget to incorporate another load of players who would act as cover if there was an outbreak and players were ruled out due to isolating and suchlike.

The fact that virtually every team outside the top three has been playing like they don't know what a football looks like tells us something. If it was just us, we could point at the manager and ask the question of why all the other clubs are coping fine. But it isn't. It's every club almost. 

So in short, we're probably sitting with a squad a good bit larger than that Alexander would have wanted, and due to that we've had to stretch our budget to accommodate that. 

I imagine that the likes of Victor Nirennold, Justin Amaluzor etc will all quietly disappear. 

Hopefully we see the club take the wages that were spent on the larger squad for Covid purposes condensed and used to bring in quality over quantity this season. 

For me, Alexander deserves immense credit for not only saving us from the relegation mire we faced when Robinson left, but he also navigated the incredibly tricky waters of a season where Covid was wreaking havoc with our game and ensured we not only avoided relegation, but that we're going to secure 6th place at the very least, and the bump in money that finishing 6th over 7th, 8th, or 9th provides. 

With that said, the reset button is hit come the end of the season. He knows what needs to be done to get us back on track, and it's on him to do it. He's got a summer transfer window where he can bring in players based purely on his desire for them to be in his team and not based on needing extra bodies for Covid emergencies, and if we're still playing shit and we're down near 10th come October or November, he'll be facing the sack like any other manager would.

But, let's not kid ourselves on that we're going to start playing like Man City. We all knew what Alexander's teams were like when he came into the job, and more importantly, so did the board. That they hired him in the first place tells you that they place results over entertainment, so we shouldn't expect them to bin the guy due to him not playing entertaining football.

Gary Neville got rid of Alexander at Salford looking for something more easy on the eye, and has since admitted he got it wrong:

"Last season, to be fair, Graham Alexander should have never left this club last season. I should have never made that decision that I made."

And for those claiming Alexander is clueless or a total mug, his record in management doesn't suggest that to be the case at all:

Fleetwood Town - Won promotion via the playoffs in his second season

Scunthorpe United - Took them to the playoffs and narrowly missed out to Millwall, who were promoted to the Championship

Salford City - Won promotion to League Two in his first season, got to the final of the EFL trophy which wasn't played due to Covid.

He knows what he's doing. It may not be pretty on the eye, but he's got a history of getting results and accomplishing what he's hired to do. 

good point , we have probably been operating on a shoe string with zero income from season tickets too...I know that was a club choice and there may be a " war chest" somewhere ,but its been a strange one and if we can pull out a couple if results,  some people will need to reappraise.

if we don't show up in next two, then I will need to reappraisal.We might not get the results , just a few more like Saturday 

[Great Balls of Shire]

4 minutes ago, Yodo said:

Not interested in his past history it’s the present we have to look at and if he loses the Ross County game he should be shown the door but the cowards in the board room who gave him the new contract won’t have the balls to sack him 

from memory you had the hump with robinson too, so I reckon ur just a negative dude

[Hope Springs]

David’s points are well made : empirical, reasonable and not reliant on speculation. This season has been extraordinarily difficult for every club and, rather come on here and blithely call for someone to lose their job, as supporters we should be constructive in our criticism, exact in our contentions and take the facts and the context into consideration. There is too much hysterical and hyperbolic posting. If you don’t like the football then of course explain yourself but the facts remain: we have finished top six, still have a crack at Europe, are in a decent financial position in relative terms and have a club we are rightly proud of for all the right reasons. Nothing disastrous has befallen us and we should support the endeavours as best we can. Alexander has made mistakes but has in my opinion earned the right to rectify this. 

[David]

5 minutes ago, Hope Springs said:

Alexander has made mistakes but has in my opinion earned the right to rectify this. 

This is key for me. No one is blindly backing him, and no one is pretending that the past few months of football haven't been terrible. If we're sitting in 10th or so come October/November and nothing has changed then the hard questions will need to be answered, and I'm sure they will.

But a top six finish, above the likes of Aberdeen and Hibs, surely earns him the chance to restructure the squad post-Covid and put our issues right next season? 

[Yorkyred]

34 minutes ago, David said:

This is key for me. No one is blindly backing him, and no one is pretending that the past few months of football haven't been terrible. If we're sitting in 10th or so come October/November and nothing has changed then the hard questions will need to be answered, and I'm sure they will.

But a top six finish, above the likes of Aberdeen and Hibs, surely earns him the chance to restructure the squad post-Covid and put our issues right next season? 

It’s always about having a balanced view for me. There will always be a percentage of supporters at every club who scream for a change of manager, the board being kicked out every time things are not going well which of course is their right, history however shows too much upheaval rarely works. As you point out Alexander has taken the club from a poor position in the league, through covid, and given us a top six finish, and the quarter finals of the Scottish cup. He’s new to Scottish football, and he will now hopefully have learnt a little more about what’s needed for next season. I don’t enjoy the football that much but am under no illusion it’s unlikely to get better with another change of manager. I said a week or so ago I did not think we would win another game this season and my view remains the same. As “hope springs” states, no one is blindly backing him, I think just about everyone realises where we are and what we’ve seen this season, I personally have always trusted the board and they continue to have that trust. I again believe he will start next season as manager and then the big test for him begins. Is he the great pretender, or someone that will be a genuine asset to the club moving forward, we will see.

[Welldaft Mk1]

4 hours ago, prideoflanarkshire said:

I would like to think a reliable source but ask me at this time tomorrow and we will know if they were talking rubbish

Never say never, but the likelihood of this leaking before Alexander finds out is pretty much zero. 

There is a lot of sense in what David posts above.  Watt leaving at Xmas to our nearest rivals for Europe did not help the situation. It absolutely made it worse and probably upset the team dynamic as well as losing arguably our best outfield player. 

I was not at Tannadice on Saturday and I acknowledge that highlights only tell half the story. But it looks as if we had the better chances by far and although United probably had more possession it is hard to be overly critical. I think Tierney was unlucky. I think Woolery should have done much better. His chance reminds me of the one that Shields had away at Dundee. Neither sadly had the skill to not whack the ball as hard as they could. If Woolery takes the pace of it and has similar accuracy it is a goal all day long. 

I hope I am wrong but I don’t see us beating County. They have as good a team as us and in Regan Cooke a more lethal striker than we have. I cannot see our defence keeping a clean sheet. KVV will be back which is a positive. We need the rub of the green and even a dodgy referee decision but that could go against us also. 

In summary I suspect the rumour of GA leaving is just that.  Especially whilst we have an outside chance of Europe. Once our final placing is decided then I am sure both the club and Manager will take stock. Both parties might decide they are better off moving on. Time will tell…

[Spiderpig]

24 minutes ago, Welldaft Mk1 said:

 

In summary I suspect the rumour of GA leaving is just that.  Especially whilst we have an outside chance of Europe. Once our final placing is decided then I am sure both the club and Manager will take stock. Both parties might decide they are better off moving on. Time will tell…

Correct If we finish 4th or 5th and claim a Euro place there is absolutely no chance GA will be punted and/or walk away,  how he handles the summer rebuild and how we perform in the 1st few months of next season will decide his future.

[mfc]

37 minutes ago, Spiderpig said:

Correct If we finish 4th or 5th and claim a Euro place there is absolutely no chance GA will be punted and/or walk away,  how he handles the summer rebuild and how we perform in the 1st few months of next season will decide his future.

That's sums up my thoughts perfectly,I'm not convinced by alexander but that means nothing and it's what the club decides is all that matters.next season will be the real test for alexander,if we carry our form into next season then he will be under pressure almost straight away.i never want to see a motherwell manager fail so I'm hoping that we can turn things around going into the new season.the summer recruitment always feels like it's vital but none more so than this time around,we need to be bringing in players that will improve the starting 11,we can't be bringing in bit part players and jersey fillers this time around.

[Great Balls of Shire]

5 hours ago, prideoflanarkshire said:

I would like to think a reliable source but ask me at this time tomorrow and we will know if they were talking rubbish

I saw it on Facebook,  but that's the same dudes that said covid is a hoax and putin is getting a bad press...still , who knows for sure?

[Yodo]

3 hours ago, Great Balls of Shire said:

from memory you had the hump with robinson too, so I reckon ur just a negative dude

Only negative when we have two managers who play football that wid make yer eyes bleed 

[David]

1 hour ago, mfc said:

the summer recruitment always feels like it's vital but none more so than this time around,we need to be bringing in players that will improve the starting 11,we can't be bringing in bit part players and jersey fillers this time around.

Alexander hinted that this was done to ensure we had cover for Covid absences, and that he'd rather work with a smaller squad. Well, now he has his chance. Time for him to get the team together and make the required changes for next season.

As mentioned previously, he'll have a few months to get that ironed out otherwise he'll be in danger of losing his job. Personally, I think we'll be top six or thereabouts again next season, playing the type of football that could be described as "industrial" at best, but the board knew that when we hired him. 

He's a results guy, not an excitement, edge of your seat attractive football guy.

[grizzlyg]

A lot of goof points made by fans of GA and those that aren't. All healthy good debate.  A good point raised by David was that board would have known the style of football before we hired him. That makes the 3yr contract extension even more bizarre unless GA at the time is aware of the issues and plans to change them in the summer but I am not convinced about that.  I think we get next 3 games out the way and see where we are. COYW

[Motherwellfc1991]

No manager with anything about him would have gone to tannadice and allowed united to play out from the back and offer them acres of space for 90 minutes.

United are poor at the back , in fact were panicky at the back and we just sat off them and let them knock the ball about and made Charlie Mulgrew look like Messy. This all purely under the instruction of the manager. 
 

What must Dean Cornelius have thought - played ok last week, gets stuck him, gives 100 percent and dropped for a dud that’s off to St Mirren. 
 

Alexander actually said it himself that we sat in 2nd half and didn’t want to chase an equaliser - we were playing Dundee United not fu*king  Man Utd.

Alexander has lost the dressing room , lost part of the support and even lost some of his back room team with at least two going to our league rivals when the season is done . Arrogance personified to the support , media, players and colleagues. 

No youth , a large number of shocking signings , signing players he won’t play and a dressing room that doesn’t want to buy into his hoofball narrow tactics -it’s ok though give him another transfer window to waste more money , let him start next season playing 433 and let him bring in his new back room team whilst they can all go out for coffees in the west end of Glasgow kidding themselves on.  Beginning to make Harri Kanpman look like a football manager now …  

One win in 4 months, turgid shite to watch with zero entertainment and the poorest squad of players in years with some Straker and John Davies quality of signings should see him get his jotters. It’s a massive risk keeping a manager who wins 1 game in 15, top six or not. 

 

 

 

[texanwellfan]

I’m ok with most of what he done on Saturday. Although I think he got it wrong in not going to 3 at the back and keeping Woolery on. Most of the other games this year (2022) though I think he got it wrong most of the time. 

[fizoxy]

Some valid points, but where did the losing the dressing room chat come from? It looks like the players are following instructions, as we know they wouldn't be in the lineup otherwise. On Saturday during a break in the game, Slattery and Alexander had a lengthy discussion and seemed to be in agreement about whatever it was, are they just playing nice in public for the kids?

We lost one prima donna and two jobbers to PCAs, it's hardly a players revolt.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[David]

22 minutes ago, fizoxy said:

Some valid points, but where did the losing the dressing room chat come from?

The same rumours and hearsay that surrounds every club whenever things aren't going well. 

[Yorkyred]

1 hour ago, Yodo said:

Only negative when we have two managers who play football that wid make yer eyes bleed 

Were you actually a very positive supporter before Robinson Yodo ?

[Spiderpig]

24 minutes ago, Motherwellfc1991 said:

No manager with anything about him would have gone to tannadice and allowed united to play out from the back and offer them acres of space for 90 minutes.

United are poor at the back , in fact were panicky at the back and we just sat off them and let them knock the ball about and made Charlie Mulgrew look like Messy. This all purely under the instruction of the manager. 
 

What must Dean Cornelius have thought - played ok last week, gets stuck him, gives 100 percent and dropped for a dud that’s off to St Mirren. 
 

Alexander actually said it himself that we sat in 2nd half and didn’t want to chase an equaliser - we were playing Dundee United not fu*king  Man Utd.

Alexander has lost the dressing room , lost part of the support and even lost some of his back room team with at least two going to our league rivals when the season is done . Arrogance personified to the support , media, players and colleagues. 

No youth , a large number of shocking signings , signing players he won’t play and a dressing room that doesn’t want to buy into his hoofball narrow tactics -it’s ok though give him another transfer window to waste more money , let him start next season playing 433 and let him bring in his new back room team whilst they can all go out for coffees in the west end of Glasgow kidding themselves on.  Beginning to make Harri Kanpman look like a football manager now …  

One win in 4 months, turgid shite to watch with zero entertainment and the poorest squad of players in years with some Straker and John Davies quality of signings should see him get his jotters. It’s a massive risk keeping a manager who wins 1 game in 15, top six or not. 

 

 

 

Where to start with that post 

No youth, our best prospect are getting game time, Cornelius and McGuire before his injury,  Johnson is out on loan but is showing promise as is O'connor  the rest are not good enough for the 1st team.

Lost the dressing room ? do we have any evidence of that or are we just assuming the team are really brilliant footballers just pretending to be shite to get rid of GA, all just rumours and pish for me

"Alexander actually said it himself that we sat in 2nd half and didn’t want to chase an equaliser " yes he did as a criticism of the performance and not a tactic, big difference.

Lasley is not leaving the backroom staff because of GA, he is taking the next step in his career and moving to a better job, so no drama there. 

Granted we have been brutal since Christmas but in a league of 9 teams all with the same level of shiteness we have done enough to be better than 6 of them so GA and the team must be doing something right.

 

[Yodo]

13 minutes ago, Yorkyred said:

Were you actually a very positive supporter before Robinson Yodo ?

Yip 

[steelboy]

It'll be a strange one if he goes tonight. We have two winnable games coming up to make it a successful season so if the rumours are true it seems more likely to be from GA's side rather than the club. 

[Yodo]

Board meeting at 7 

[steelboy]

If he is trying to get a pay off before the end of the season he has to go onto gardening leave. We have to show some backbone. 

[El Grew]

Like many others, I’ve been a critic of our present players and manager however I’ve reviewed how our club has performed in the league since I became a fan in the mid-1960s. 

Now I know folk get switched-off by statistics but in Scottish football especially, they are an indisputable representation of past performance and a strong indicator as to future performance.

Since I started supporting the ‘Well the accepted wisdom was that our city clubs dominated the league and always would.  As a demonstration of this, since season 1960/61, only 1 non-city club has won the league.

If this accepted wisdom prevailed, and I accept it hasn’t always, then the best we could hope for was to finish 7th and if we bettered this, it would be considered a good season.  Since season 1960/61 and including this season but excluding seasons when we were relegated, we have finished higher than 7th place 20 times. That’s 20 from 62 seasons or just over 32%.  I don’t have statistics for the other non-city clubs so I’m unable to say how that compares with them but I’d be willing to bet it must be close to being the best of the rest.

I certainly do not enjoy watching the football we are serving up at present, however upon reflecting on the above review, I think perhaps my criticism has been a little over the top and that I should put things into perspective.  Others may and likely will disagree but then that’s democracy and we are all ‘Well supporters.

[smiddy]

1 hour ago, Yorkyred said:

Were you actually a very positive supporter before Robinson Yodo ?

yes he deffo was yorky  

he did like bobby howitt      or how ever u spell his name av forgot 

[grizzlyg]

27 minutes ago, smiddy said:

yes he deffo was yorky  

he did like bobby howitt      or how ever u spell his name av forgot 

Spelling is bang on  b o b b y     lol