Squad investment

[Handsome_Devil]

McKinstry left aged 15, or having just turned 16 and I think McLear was a year older - I don't think anyone other than yourself believes at that age they left because they weren't first team players but they got offered, even as a kids, life-changing opportunities.

[jwok]

I doubt that there will be any significant addition(s) to the squad until the winter window. And that only if we are still bumping along near the bottom of the table.

[sieb1886]

Yes Robinson has a lot to answer for regarding signings but surely he isn’t solely responsible for who we sign. Our scouting system has to be answerable as well as they must be recommending players to Robinson. Last season I recommended a forward to the club who ended up the top goalscorer in his league with 28 goals and still had six games to play when covid19 struck. The club didn’t even acknowledge my recommendation in any shape or form. Player will be playing in the National League this season and will score goals

I don't doubt you made that recommendation 1 iota Tex... so name names at FP as to who you alerted to this possible gem. Surely some recourse is due if they've flagrantly ignored the info.

[dasdeid]

McKinstry left aged 15, or having just turned 16 and I think McLear was a year older - I don't think anyone other than yourself believes at that age they left because they weren't first team players but they got offered, even as a kids, life-changing opportunities.

You cherry pick TWO players ... what of Gorrin, Scott, Hastie, Mbulu & Turnbull. Campbell had already proven was capable of stepping up. Barely had they appeared and had it not been unfortunate, Turnbull would have been gone. A matter of time for Campbell. Accept a selling club but few watch the reserves .. these guys were ready and SAVED Robinson.

[texaco cup]

I don't doubt you made that recommendation 1 iota Tex... so name names at FP as to who you alerted to this possible gem. Surely some recourse is due if they've flagrantly ignored the info.

sieb1886. I sent three emails to the club with two player recommendations never got so much as an acknowledgment of my emails. Have sent at least 3 emails to Alan Burrows to find out about how much was raised for virtual Match day and have heard nothing. Covid19 can’t be blamed for everything, common courtesy to reply, especially at a time the club is looking for supporters to help the club in so many different ways. I am seriously beginning to lose patience and respect for the club I have supported for 50 years

[dasdeid]

TBH Texaco how many organisations would acknowledge and/or act upon the advice of someone from the outside ?
I bellow advice towards the dugout on match days from PoD and much to the annoyance those sat around …. NOTHING.
I’ve given up and content to sit back relax and watch the utter guff presented most home matches, knowing Robinson a t*ss*r who’ll soon depart ... and guess what … another t*ss*r will take his place. It's called the Circle of Life

[LawSteelman]

I worry about allowing Robinson any cash or scope to enter the transfer market, especially to address the striker issue. His record in that respect is absolutely deplorable and given that we are forever being reminded that we are a small club on a small budget then it's all the more galling when you look at some of the guff he's recruited over the past three years, players that in some cases barely even featured. Alex Fisher, George Newell, Danny Johnson, Connor Sammon, Gael Bigirimana, Nadir Ciftci, Mikael Ndjoli, Christian Ilic, Christy Manzinga, Sherwin Seedorf and Jermaine Hylton. None of these players made/make any serious impact on the team and all were brought in by Robinson.

I like Robinson overall, he's a likeable guy and has done a decent job overall, but he has made the same mistakes year in year out and his transfer record isn't good enough. The least said about his 'brand' of football the better. It's time for him to move on imo, but we all know that the job will simply be handed to Keith Lasley in true cheap and unimaginative Motherwell FC style. This will just see us get more of the same as we currently have.

[Handsome_Devil]

You cherry pick TWO players ... what of Gorrin, Scott, Hastie, Mbulu & Turnbull. Campbell had already proven was capable of stepping up. Barely had they appeared and had it not been unfortunate, Turnbull would have been gone. A matter of time for Campbell. Accept a selling club but few watch the reserves .. these guys were ready and SAVED Robinson.

I picked the best two from the last youth batch to explain why there's no one coming through...the club had already made this quite clear.

Gorrin was rubbish when he signed and Mbulu no better than so so before he got injured. Both needed time, one got it and eventually did a job, one didn't and we'll never know.

Why not praise Robinson for handling Scott etc well? Plenty of youth players have struggled by being pitched into battling teams and asked to do too much for too long...the manager successfully integrated a clutch of youth players into the team which improved results, made us millions and you're criticising how he did it? Not my attitude but each to their own.

[Handsome_Devil]

Normally I agree about not simply handing the job to the assistant but in this case it appears there's been a conscious succession plan to develop Lasley and let him take over. Had Robinson gone in summer - with us on a high - there would have been little complaint.

It's slightly different if we bullet Robinson or he walks because we're ganting, however, a newer broom would seem less of a risk than sticking with the old plan.

I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment of Robinson's time being up, he's certainly on the edge, but if the next manager, whoever he is, produces "more of the same" (7th, 8th, 3rd, two cup finals and millions of quid in transfer fees) I'll be quite happy.

[LawSteelman]

Just like there was a succession plan to develop Malpas to take over from Butcher? We all know how that worked out. It very rarely works out allowing the assistant of the immediately previous regime to succeed the managers job. Apart from anything else it's also wrong and lazy. When we need a new manager the correct process should be followed. We advertise the job, interview candidates, agree terms and appoint the best one. That's the proper way to operate, but none of this will happen as it's already been decided that regardless of what happens, Keith Lasley will be handed the job.

When you put things theoretically like that, indeed Robinson appears to have done well with us and indeed I don't deny that he's done a decent (but no more) job over the piece. As I said last week, I don't believe that what he serves up is the best we can hope for though. The football way have played during that period has been, by and large, absolutely horrific to watch. We are so predictable in how we will line up and how we will change tactics and personnel when we're struggling against a side sitting in. Teams cottoned on to this in November 2017 and not much has changed since then! Also he has failed in numerous transfer windows to address the forward attacking issues that have dogged us for almost three years now and in that time recruitmed a litany of absolute dross, mostly that can "play anywhere across the front three", spunking God knows how much of our budget in the process.

We are clearly not going to get better under Robinson, but we're getting worse. Two wins in the whole of 2020 and we find ourselves bottom of the table after six games, no wins and only two goals scored. And all this after yet another summer where the managers transfer business doesn't look up to scratch. That to me suggests that things are going in the wrong direction for us and that a change of management is necessary. Otherwise we may well find ourselves relegated.