Stuart Kettlewell discussion thread

[Great Balls of Shire]

5 minutes ago, wellsince75 said:

He did basics well a year ago - Hammell had lost the plot .

hes lost the basics and brought in utter dross .

hes not doing well - I don’t think there can be a debate that we have better players now than 12 months ago - we simply don’t 

 

So if we had better players,why did Raith beat us in cup and we were at foot if table?

Even van veen wasn't doing it at that point 

[wellsince75]

1 hour ago, Great Balls of Shire said:

So if we had better players,why did Raith beat us in cup and we were at foot if table?

Even van veen wasn't doing it at that point 

Hammell had lost the plot and lost the dressing room. the 4-3-3 we were playing was killing us. 

SK came in, changed formation and got things moving well. During this time we had

Defence.  Johnstone, Mcginn, Butcher, Casey, Butcher
Midfield.  Spittal, Goss, Slattery,
Strikers. Obika & KVV

I suspect the majority of "well fans would prefer that starting 11 to the one we had today. 

Other than Mika I don't believe we've improved any of the squad.  Mugabi, SOD, Paton all being first team picks, with even worse sitting on the bench. 

I really don't believe we've improved what we had in terms of players.

In addition to that we've lost the basics and really have no obvious game plan. 

@Great Balls of Shire I'm not calling for the managers head but I'm frustrated that after his very positive start he's made a chops of signings and in last few months lost the plot with game plan. 

There's a fair amount we need to sort out. 



 

[wellfan]

Tick tock. 

[Kmcalpin]

I think SK has the next game against Ross County to save his job. Our current winless run is unacceptable on various levels. Late comebacks are simply papering over huge cracks. 

[Great Balls of Shire]

38 minutes ago, wellsince75 said:

Hammell had lost the plot and lost the dressing room. the 4-3-3 we were playing was killing us. 

SK came in, changed formation and got things moving well. During this time we had

Defence.  Johnstone, Mcginn, Butcher, Casey, Butcher
Midfield.  Spittal, Goss, Slattery,
Strikers. Obika & KVV

I suspect the majority of "well fans would prefer that starting 11 to the one we had today. 

Other than Mika I don't believe we've improved any of the squad.  Mugabi, SOD, Paton all being first team picks, with even worse sitting on the bench. 

I really don't believe we've improved what we had in terms of players.

In addition to that we've lost the basics and really have no obvious game plan. 

@Great Balls of Shire I'm not calling for the managers head but I'm frustrated that after his very positive start he's made a chops of signings and in last few months lost the plot with game plan. 

There's a fair amount we need to sort out. 



 

Don't disagree with what you're saying re things need sorting,but from that list the players we lost were out with his control.

I've not been impressed by Wilkinson but he did well enough today ...Shaw neither, but last year we were playing with shields up front ..every year it gets harder with seemingly less money available...it could be the year for the drop although I don't think we are any worse that st j and livi ...think Ross co git  more up front thsn us 

[Tamwell]

12 minutes ago, Kmcalpin said:

I think SK has the next game against Ross County to save his job. Our current winless run is unacceptable on various levels. Late comebacks are simply papering over huge cracks. 

This is my line of thinking too. We’ve got a narrative today of “10 men defying the odds and equalising in the last minute” it completely papers over those cracks of the 2 wholly unacceptable goals we lost in the first half. Those aren’t bad players losing those goals, it’s poor coaching and the wrong formation, maybe?

FWIW I really like SK and I hope he turns it round (obviously) but we need to be having the discussion now, particularly with the January window approaching.

[grizzlyg]

I have defended Kettlewell to the hilt but he is running out of time.  His signings have been terrible and if Davor doesn't start on Tuesday then that sums up what SK thinks if him...even when he signed him 

[middleeastdave]

I wouldn’t think there will be any chance of sacking SK in the near future, BUT the attendance today of just over 4,000 with just 3,500 Motherwell supporters bothered to turn up especially after a good result at Celtic the week before. I don’t know if it was due to the weather but to loose 500 (13%) odd supporters tells you that they are not happy and if that continues the board need to address the situation!!

[Dossertillidie2]

The most we lost under hammell was 3 games . 3 with an injury ravaged squad. 3 games!!!

ok he stuck rigid to a formation that perhaps we didn’t have the personnel for in an attempt to play attractive football. But he lost 3 games in a row

 

kettlewell has had a full summer build and hasn’t won a game in 11 poss 12 by Tues. that’s a rediculous stat

[Spiderpig]

11 hours ago, middleeastdave said:

I wouldn’t think there will be any chance of sacking SK in the near future, BUT the attendance today of just over 4,000 with just 3,500 Motherwell supporters bothered to turn up especially after a good result at Celtic the week before. I don’t know if it was due to the weather but to loose 500 (13%) odd supporters tells you that they are not happy and if that continues the board need to address the situation!!

There were 700 Dundee fans there yesterday so we never lost 500 supporters , 3.5k well fans at a home game is about average for us.

[Great Balls of Shire]

11 hours ago, middleeastdave said:

I wouldn’t think there will be any chance of sacking SK in the near future, BUT the attendance today of just over 4,000 with just 3,500 Motherwell supporters bothered to turn up especially after a good result at Celtic the week before. I don’t know if it was due to the weather but to loose 500 (13%) odd supporters tells you that they are not happy and if that continues the board need to address the situation!!

We have won cups and been on great runs and had a core support of 4 k approx, it's the way it is ..weather would definitely have been a factor yesterday 

[wellsince75]

Brutally cold weather. 
Team not won since summer months. 
Need to buy xmas presents. 

Quite impressed 3.5K well minded fans committed to the cause. 

[bobbybingo]

11 hours ago, Dossertillidie2 said:

The most we lost under hammell was 3 games . 3 with an injury ravaged squad. 3 games!!!

ok he stuck rigid to a formation that perhaps we didn’t have the personnel for in an attempt to play attractive football. But he lost 3 games in a row

 

kettlewell has had a full summer build and hasn’t won a game in 11 poss 12 by Tues. that’s a rediculous stat

Kettlewell lost 4 in a row, that's how this run started. Hammell's final 4 games, including the Raith Rovers cup tie, were all defeats. He hadn't won in 11 league games when he was sacked. 

I suppose the main differences are, we were joint bottom when Hammell went and it looked very much like the team had jacked it. At least (or mibbe most) this lot still have some fight about them.

[Kmcalpin]

I really think SK is on borrowed time and we are simply delaying the inevitable. Very few other clubs would retain a manager with a record of 4 points from 33.  Most, though not all of us, would agree that his summer transfer dealings were poor. Why then should we expect his January dealings, if there are any, to be better? The team, not just 2 or 3 individuals, has lost form. That has to be down to the manager.  He seems incapable of changing tactics or formations to turn things around and we are making the same errors month after month now.

If there is to be a change then we have to do it soon, as any new appointee would want a full window to se what he could do in the market.

I really cannot see a significant improvement in results in the next 2 games, or even beyond that.. 

[ropy]

There is agreement that signings have been poor but should the club be more transparent about the process.  If we had a list of 10 strikers and we were priced out of nos. 1 - 3, and 4 & 5 didn’t fancy a move to Scotland and Wilkinson was no. 6, did that mean we didn’t try?  If the fans don’t fancy Wilkinson should we have moved on to no. 7 or just chucked it?

A change of manager may give us a short term bounce due to the different voice but in all likelihood we will be in a similar position next season.  I would prefer that the existing regime improves, management and players.  Kettlewell doesn’t appear to be completely stuck in his ways like Hammell was, he has tinkered a little, perhaps he needs to be braver and more radical.  (Is playing wingbacks on the correct side radical?).

Lets score 5 against County on a cold winter’s night, it’s been done before.

[wellfan]

50 minutes ago, ropy said:

Lets score 5 against County on a cold winter’s night, it’s been done before.

Scoring 5 means we’ll likely concede 5 or 6. 

[ropy]

3 minutes ago, wellfan said:

Scoring 5 means we’ll likely concede 5 or 6. 

Good game though 

[grumpy]

If we do change the manager, looks like St. Brendan may be available soon. 😱

[wellsince75]

Since being a sole manager he's managed 54 games and won 38%.  Not brilliant but good enough for us (if sustained) 

This season our league our win rate is 20%.  After 15 games it's no longer a throw away stat.  Thats Malpas level poor and almost certainly bottom 2 if you look over the history books. 

Those running the club have a lot to answer for.  Need for a CEO , longer term strategy, invest in youth etc.

Spend money on a manager with a proven record. Example Stockports manager has over 700 games and a win record of +50% .  Closer to home Ian Murray has over 300 games as a manger with a +40% win record.

These are the types of managers we should be looking at.  Rather than picking up someone who's been booted out for being poor elsewhere , hire someone a club actually wants to keep and who may want to step up a level. 

[texanwellfan]

2 hours ago, wellsince75 said:

Since being a sole manager he's managed 54 games and won 38%.  Not brilliant but good enough for us (if sustained) 

This season our league our win rate is 20%.  After 15 games it's no longer a throw away stat.  Thats Malpas level poor and almost certainly bottom 2 if you look over the history books. 

Those running the club have a lot to answer for.  Need for a CEO , longer term strategy, invest in youth etc.

Spend money on a manager with a proven record. Example Stockports manager has over 700 games and a win record of +50% .  Closer to home Ian Murray has over 300 games as a manger with a +40% win record.

These are the types of managers we should be looking at.  Rather than picking up someone who's been booted out for being poor elsewhere , hire someone a club actually wants to keep and who may want to step up a level. 

Fair post but can we afford to pry a “winning” manager away from a team? Even more difficult if other teams are also interested in said manager. Even then still not guaranteed that they would do any better once here but perhaps a better chance of success? 

[Dossertillidie2]

7 hours ago, bobbybingo said:

Kettlewell lost 4 in a row, that's how this run started. Hammell's final 4 games, including the Raith Rovers cup tie, were all defeats. He hadn't won in 11 league games when he was sacked. 

I suppose the main differences are, we were joint bottom when Hammell went and it looked very much like the team had jacked it. At least (or mibbe most) this lot still have some fight about them.

I totally agree the raith game was one of the worst performances I had seen during his short tenure but we played 3 players that day that were literally signed the day before. He wasn’t afforded a real opportunity to play the way he wanted when he was eventually backed on the last day of the window

 

sk has had the last few months of last season and a full summer window to build a team and we are in my opinion worst off squad wise than what hammell inherited from alexander

if SK does leave at some point the board have to come out and be transparent with the expectations on the new manager and work to a strategy that works for the long term for the club. There will be ups and downs but if we are open and honest from the start that a mixture of youth and experience with a defined way of playing from academy to first team and  a top six finish is our target then perhaps the fans will be a little more patient over the course of the season and not knee jerk decide on the next manager 

[santheman]

When you've got a defence that is continually ball watching instead of the players they're supposed to be marking and a midfield that's not picking up runners into the box then you're always going to concede goals.

Up to Kettlewell to sort it out on the training field.

[Yoshi-1991]

I've heard of managers getting the sack at half time, any chance we can do it before it?

[wellfan]

On 12/2/2023 at 7:52 PM, wellfan said:

Tick tock. 

Tick tock.

[MJC]

Time to step up Stephen Frail.

Lets face it, that’s who’s next.