Handsome_Devil

You could even go further than that and say that it's taken until May 2024 (assuming we clinch safety with a balanced budget then) to get back on truly solid ground from Alexander losing the plot in spring 2022. Which makes sense when you break it down but still, bloody hell. I've no doubt Kettlewell will see the same as us regarding CBs but that not the same as him picking/being able to afford the guys to fix it. The Livingston rumour is hardly confidence inspiring. What's also worth saying is that this year he got a long time to bed his signings in - for all Bair, Davor and Gent are now pluses, they took till Xmas to get going. If he does the same again next season and we're struggling in 10th, I'm not convinced we won't decide to roll the dice for January rather than wait and not renew him. Hopefully not, ofc.

If anyone fancies an afternoon nap there's a long chat with the most normal man in football: https://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/2024/04/16/500-and-not-out/

Freed by Motherwell and first pick at the Euros will be some summer.

Blaney is one of the chameleons that make up most teams...if things are going well he's fine, if things are going poorly he'll look poor. My main amusement is we signed him partly because of his free kick against us yet we've hardly let him take one...I think he cleared the stand in Perth? But can't remember many more.

No doubt but you could say that about god knows how many things... we've only four home wins and the two since August have been against the bottom two. We just played three midtable sides at home there, scored twice in what is touching five hours (with injury time) and took two points from nine. We've taken only three points from St Johnstone because we've conceded four terrible set pieces. That list goes on and on but it also needs to be said we've rescued more points this season after 90 minutes than I can ever remember...the margins going the other way could easily have seen us still in deep trouble.

Livingston cuffed us 5-1 at FP the day Khaled Kemas scored the goal of his life. But aye - it would still take an astonishing collapse to get relegated from here. That said, lose in Dingwall first game back while St J beat Livingston and I'm nervous again.

SOD is also younger than McGinn...if I had to bet we'll keep SOD on a significantly reduced wage, I think mcginn might get what we're offering now elsewhere and we'll roll the dice on replacing him. I wouldn't be totally averse to keeping both on the correct deals but then the replacements for Butcher and mugabi need to be spot on.

In summer my view for the season was survive comfortably, even if in 10th, gut the squad, pay the credit card (several managers and January 2023) and start again from even in 24/25. We'll get that so box ticked, no complaints. Where the frustration comes in is with Aberdeen and Hibs imploding, there are two utter shiters in the top six and one will get Europe. Had we shot ourselves in the foot just a little less we'd have been right in that mix. But c'est la vie. For all our improvements and 'likeable' aspects, we're clearly limited as anything. Davor has just been discussed while Bair is only marginally better than when we signed him in situations where he can't run in behind. There's then the defence. And goalkeeper. And the manager. Who has some major pluses but is the equivalent of a raw teenage player - you can see why he might make it and equally why he might not. Nonetheless, starting from zero is a much stronger position for 24/25 than our last two seasons. We finally have a CEO and we're finally sorting the strategic direction. As always, there are weaknesses and threats on the horizon but for the first time in over two years the strengths and opportunities are probably greater...it's time to be cautiously optimistic imho.

Bizarrely he looked fine - perhaps due to low expectations - when he arrived having not played for ages. No doubt he's struggled since. I actually wonder if he's not fully fit since that injury kept him out but with Slattery and Paton knackered there's no one else. If that's the case I hope we're now letting him recover properly.

I think he's trying too hard and making poor choices...he made an unbelievable, and brave, headed clearance to deny Boyle a tap-in too tbf.

I said something similar months ago but with the addition the quality of the league is something you only care about when losing. St Mirren will probably become the worst team to ever reach Europe through the league (again displacing us) and will quite rightly give zero fucks. What i do find increasingly remarkable is the gap Hibs and Aberdeen have to the rest is bigger than ever and yet they're still basically totally incompetent. No doubt over summer we'll all be solidly predicting the big five will be the top five and equally certain is come this time next year we'll all be proved wrong!

He's cost us a few points over the season but so have plenty others. He's contributed little for his wage but so have plenty others etc. Essentially it's just easy to put a face on your frustrations at the season, our squad and so on, and I'm afraid Ollie Shaw with his offensively gelled hair is it this time.

We obviously had our own managerial debate this season and one of the reasons for sticking was changing rarely seems to work long-term. Hibs were one of a few examples cited and the question asked, would you have been worse off now had you kept Ross? Clearly you'd have had to accept 21/22 as a shite write-off but could Ross have turned it round if given the next summer rather than basically churning through a manager a season since? A big caveat is the players sticking with the manager - as they did with Kettlewell during our months - and that certainly looked iffy for you today. But even so, if things were bad enough to bring him in, sacking him before he's had a summer window is surely extreme, as is hitting five permanent managers in four seasons?

Top six as a promoted team is an excellent season tbf. Also means our 2022 vintage no longer the worst side to make it. Given where we were in summer, I'd have taken our current position quite happily. The city clubs opening the door makes it frustrating but this year was a balancing the books while surviving effort. We can now look forward to a fresh start next season both and off the pitch. Pleased to see Robinson and Lasley make Europe as well.

Ollie Shaw eh. Draw was fair, bottom six fair overall. But another point closer to safety.

Looks incredibly hard in the wind and both teams happy to be goalless and go for it late rather than do something stupid and concede. Hibs have had the better chances though.

I agree we'll sell Bair if a proper offer comes in but I'm not as convinced as some it will, at least not to the extent it makes us consider it. We have a dirt cheap striker we're now pretty confident will hit double figures next season...to make that worth the risk of trying to replace him you're talking 500k. As much as lots of shite in England can outspend us on wages, they don't often splash that sort of fee. And as great as he's been since Xmas, it's still a short window out of his career and for all his talents, he still has an awful lot in the 'needs work' column. I've no doubt we'll offer him an extension and I actually wouldn't be surprised if he takes it...but we'll see. Obviously that's assuming he sits quietly on the bench in summer, if he scores three goals as Canada reach the Copa quarters I'll reconsider!

It may well hurt the club, possibly quite badly, and while highly unlikely to kill us off, if it really goes wrong it could change us for the worse for decades. People are entitled to their opinion that we should take investment "at all costs" but others are equally entitled to point out this is fucking stupid.

Erik does remind me of the monorail salesman tbf.

Ooooh, an issue 1...very impressive. Biased too but GLF (and broader fanzine culture in general) was cracking back in the day. It's one of these things where explaining to youngsters who post about the game literally while watching it that you had four weeks to collate your thoughts and six-eight to see it in print is wonderful. I genuinely think the quicker world in those terms contributes to the ever decreasing patience with managers.

Ah, right. You replied to a question asking if any foreigner had taken over and been a long-term success, I was just meaning LH was not. Being local certainly isn't the only - or even main - factor in whether you're a positive or negative but for me at least it establishes some credibility. Les came in with a clear motive and exit strategy - stabilising his local club and handing it over to the community. Of course he could have screwed us over but there was more reason to believe him than some guy who stuck a pin in a map and decided he looks good in claret and amber. I freely admit I'm sceptical of him, even though I like the idea of what he could bring, but I'm happy to see the details. I just think the attitude of some fans - claiming fan ownership has failed and giving the impression they'd bend over instantly for any cheque - is incredibly dangerous.

Probably not, though I don't see the relevance of your point?

Excellent points from the both of you and as someone who is very concerned about the 51% thing, EB with his (presumed) attitude is someone who I'd absolutely love to have on board if the deal is right. And of course we can wait and see the written offer but then what would we do when we're supposed to be working all day?

He was literally born a few* miles from the stadium! *Taking a liberty with few here but Lanarkshire's not that big.

"Barmack, a former Netflix vice president, recently entered into an agreement on non-binding heads of terms with the three-man Motherwell board over a deal which would see him become the majority shareholder of the fan-owned club." That's been presented as a fact known and/or confirmed by GM rather than just the rumour or conjecture the rest of us have. As @StAndrew7says, it's poorly edited that this isn't given context, ie sources within the club/society.