Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[Al B]

I am all for this. 'Mon the Hammy.

[thisGRAEME]

33 minutes ago, Swami said:

Has anyone asked him about the cursed amulet yet? 

What a reference!

['WellDel]

55 minutes ago, Swello said:

I think this is spot on - except this season was - explicitly - not meant to be that as we supposedly built the team last season so we could be up and running with only a small number of ins-and-outs. Surely got to be one of the most frustrating things amongst the wreckage of GA's time. 

Absolutely.  He can punt out all the manager's association blurb and useless statistics he wants. Any prospective future employer doesn't need to dig too deep to discover the reality that Alexander lucked his way to top 6 and Europe by virtue of a bizarre league campaign where every team below 5th place seemed determined to be worse than the other. The bare facts are that his personality traits, tactics and recruitment led to a substanard and unbalanced squad with zero morale, and his reign here was nothing short of catastrophic. 

In what deluded mind is that squad one that only needed tweaked and minor surgery in order to compete? He's fucked off with us on life-support and Hammell's got a hell of a job to get us back on our feet when some will demanding we walk before we can crawl. Rocky road ahead.

[capt_oats]

There he is (again).

[Ron Aldo]

Just out of interest, what are people's reasons for being so optimistic about Hammell? Only reason I ask is that when Lasley had been linked with the job in the past most people have been against it but in terms of profile, experience etc. Hammell and Lasley are pretty much identical.

For the record, I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic about the appointment but a large part of me has the fear.

[kingjoey]

1 hour ago, Doctor Manhattan said:

Hopefully his last loss for a few weeks too, eh?

Who knows?

[Kapowzer]

Without knowing the calibre of the 70/80 who applied. We do know it was down to Hammy, Simo and one other. No idea if the third was an application or approached.

Hammy was definitely there on merit and when our academy has made as much in recent years as punter tickets then he certainly deserves a fair shake.

Simo, has he been considered for any other job in U.K. football or only us due to association?

Got me thinking. We’ve made a big thing about how we’re not a hiring and firing club, 30 years in the top flight, community focused, decent academy, bowling green pitch and stadium that doesn’t need any major work done to it. Plucky and making the best of limited resources a bit like the people of the area. We’re in a place where all our revenues now can be put back into the first team too.

Exactly what did that nice background story count towards when it came to the quality of who would have considered the managers job? Did the knowledge you get longer with us than elsewhere to sort things out really attract anyone.

On the face of it, cultivating that narrative seemingly had limited to no rewards.

[stu92]

15 minutes ago, Ron Aldo said:

Just out of interest, what are people's reasons for being so optimistic about Hammell? Only reason I ask is that when Lasley had been linked with the job in the past most people have been against it but in terms of profile, experience etc. Hammell and Lasley are pretty much identical.

For the record, I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic about the appointment but a large part of me has the fear.

For me, Lasley always felt like an ex-player that had the assistant role because he was a club legend. I’m sure that is probably highly unfair on him and that he was actually a decent coach in our league, but I think in my mind the fact that he was always just about the place and coming into the frame for the manager’s job on the back of the previous manager having a mare done him no favours. 

In all honesty I don’t think I could’ve told you Hammell was director of the academy until GA left, and I certainly wasn’t filled with confidence when he stepped in as caretaker. But I think he’s handled himself really well in the period since, he’s said the right things and signs on the pitch are encouraging - it’s not just business as usual and you can see deliberate tactical changes. The fact that he’s been more of a background figure, and that he’s clearly been working away quietly getting his badges (did Lasley have any? Seemed to have been mentioned more with Hammell than I ever remember with Las), just fills me with a bit more optimism.

As I said, probably a bit unfair on Lasley but just the weird way my mind works I think. 

[Handsome_Devil]

I think the poorer quality of applicants compared to 2021 is more down to timing than us being massively less desirable. If we'd soldiered on with Alexander until after the first round of sackings in Scotland and England I think we'd have had more serious options than we did.

[capt_oats]

34 minutes ago, Ron Aldo said:

Just out of interest, what are people's reasons for being so optimistic about Hammell? Only reason I ask is that when Lasley had been linked with the job in the past most people have been against it but in terms of profile, experience etc. Hammell and Lasley are pretty much identical.

For the record, I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic about the appointment but a large part of me has the fear.

I wouldn't say I'm optimistic but for me it feels like any other option would have been as much of a risk whether it's not being familiar with the league, not knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the squad or even the time it might have taken to get them into the country.

If there is optimism on my part it's largely down to the fact that so far he's said all the right things and looks like he's taking steps to implement some sort of change. Also it feels like there's actually a bit of momentum off the back of us seeming like we're clearing decks. I'm not exactly won over by Brian Kerr being named assistant but if there's a 2nd assistant/coach role that allows for an experienced guy to come in I'll feel a bit better about it.

This whole summer feels like there's been a stasis around the club - like we've been waiting to see what happened with Alexander to the point that Sligo kind of almost felt inevitable. Whether it's the minimal transfer activity or just the slight off-ness around the lack of updates. Giving Hammell the gig (and not having to wait on a new guy get his feet under the desk) feels like that's actually lifted a bit.

As I said earlier, the more I think about it the more it makes sense to just crack on with Hammell who picked us up enough to beat St Mirren with an unfinished squad and low morale while also missing one of our best midfielders and really should have got a point against St Johnstone.

Being glib, I suppose if there's a difference between Lasley and Hammell - one was scudded 3-0 by Accies, the other won his first game in charge.

Edited August 11, 2022 by capt_oats

[Handsome_Devil]

I'm not optimistic, indeed I fear disaster, but the one major positive I see in appointing Hammell is the chance of stability for, potentially three to five seasons. That's not to say he won't go to Aberdeen for more money or even that having the one manager rebuild and rebuild is desirable for ever - see Robinson. But if we do want to have an identity, a process of how we do things etc over a longer period of time than the usual merry-go-round, having Mr Motherwell as boss would seem an decent foundation stone, not least for fan buy in to whatever the project actually is.

[Doctor Manhattan]

41 minutes ago, kingjoey said:

Who knows?

I guess we'll find out soon enough. See you on the match thread.

[Doctor Manhattan]

53 minutes ago, Ron Aldo said:

Just out of interest, what are people's reasons for being so optimistic about Hammell? 

He's not Alexander!

Glass half-full until proven otherwise.

[Busta Nut]

54 minutes ago, Ron Aldo said:

Just out of interest, what are people's reasons for being so optimistic about Hammell? Only reason I ask is that when Lasley had been linked with the job in the past most people have been against it but in terms of profile, experience etc. Hammell and Lasley are pretty much identical.

That's a fairly decent question. I wondered that too.
As I said earlier in the thread Las would have walked into the job if he was still about.

[D-Fens Foster]

We have finally appointed someone so let’s get the rest of the work done now. In Hammell’s own words the squad needs major surgery. The board needs to back him and I’ll accept 10th this year. 

[rowsdower]

Hammell looks like he could stare someone to death, Las look like everyone's pal.

I think the problem Lasley had last time was that he was the assistant when everything was going wrong for Robbo, so he had some of that still attached to him.

Hammell has been hands on with the academy for a while, so insulated from the first team stuff, so it feels like the best of both worlds, with someone who knows us inside out but still brings a freshness.

An experienced manager (that we can legitimately get) brings their own risks, they might take time to assess the squad and adjust to the league, etc. They'd also be ripe for criticism from us due to the failures they likely had that brought them into our candidate pool.

['WellDel]

I wouldn't say I'm optimistic as such, but I maybe just don't share the same outlook of imminent doom that some others seem to.

I've already stated that I'd be delighted with 10th place and retaining our league status this year and would happily forego any cup runs etc to concentrate on that one objective.

Would a manager with more experience and profile have made me feel more confident we will do that? Probably, but then I thought that with Alexander.

Does giving it to Hammell strike fear into me? No, it might not feel overly inspired, but given the teams that will be round about us I'm fairly confident that if he's backed by the board in bringing in a few bodies that he will be more than capable of making a fist of it against the managerial masterminds of Davidson, Robinson and Martindale and the resources they have at hand. I think he will also be bold enough to shake up personnel and formations dependent on who we're playing and has already shown he will use subs readily. Unlike his predecessor's one size fits all and no subs til the 70th minute shite.

[well fan for life]

1 hour ago, capt_oats said:

There he is (again).

Hey, Siri! Show me all our competent left backs in the last 20 years.

[thisGRAEME]

1 minute ago, well fan for life said:

Hey, Siri! Show me all our competent left backs in the last 20 years.

This better not be a slight on Jim Patterson.

[CoF]

1 hour ago, capt_oats said:

There he is (again).

They missed a pic for that collage - (I made this about 12 years ago - f**k knows why)