Poor Hammy

[jwok]

He's gone. Sorry it had to end this way.

We have parted company with manager Steven Hammell.

His assistant Brian Kerr will also leave the club.

Stuart Kettlewell has agreed to take interim charge of the first-team until a permanent appointment has been made.

“Steven Hammell is and will forever be a colossus in Motherwell Football Club history,” chairman Jim McMahon said.

“Unfortunately, due to a number of factors, his time in charge hasn’t worked out the way we all really hoped it would.

“Although this decision has been difficult, we feel it is necessary as we look towards the last third of the Premiership season.

“I want to thank Steven and Brian for all their efforts and wish them both all the very best in the future.”

The chairman and non-executive directors have begun the recruitment process to appoint the next manager.

[Handsome_Devil]

Always fondly remembered as a player but this was overdue.

[LawSteelman]

This is a sad day as Stevie Hammell is a club legend and genuinely good guy but this had to happen as it just wasn't working out.

Thanks for your efforts Stevie and good luck for the future.

As for us we need to get this appointment absolutely bang on. And it can't be Stuart Kettlewell.

[WoodyG]

When are the Board resigning. They can't be trusted to appoint another manager.

[skippy91]

Please before anyone comes on and says..... " let's go for Lennon". A resounding and absolute NO!!!!!

[sieb1886]

Please before anyone comes on and says..... " let's go for Lennon". A resounding and absolute NO!!!!!

I'd rather see Auld Nick running our fitbaw team than NL (and that's not North Lanarkshire) !

[Handsome_Devil]

If they resigned tomorrow, who'd appoint a new manager?

[Gowboy]

The Board have to take a HUGE amount of responsibility for this whole debacle. They should have shipped out GA at the end of last season when it was clear his style of play was awful. You sit down with him and agree he needs to go with European qualification on his CV looking really good and that is the time to split amicably. You cut a deal.
Hammy was brought in as a temporary manager - he was available and he is not going to say no when asked to help HIS club out. The Board should then have said either “we are going for an experienced guy, do you want to be his assistant?” or “do you want the manager’s job, but you have to take an experienced number 2, not Brian Kerr?”.
Very difficult for Hammy to have turned down an offer to be Motherwell boss, especially when the Board are likely to be making very positive noises of support. In many ways it would be hard for him to stand there and say “No. I’ll just stay at the Academy.”
Sadly, he was out his depth and this was obvious towards the end of 2022. Again the Board should have taken the decision to terminate his contract earlier, then had time in which to make an appointment and give the new guy the window for recruitment.
I know hindsight is a great thing but there are three instances of when the Board failed to act on decisions that are their responsibility. As a result we have no manager, will need time to get a new one, a bunch of players recruited by guys no longer at Fir Park and who have found themselves in the middle of a real mess.
And where does Hammy go now? A man with a young family ( I think) who gave up a very safe job certainly in part because of his loyalty to the club. He doesn’t have the ability to be a manager, that’s clear, but he is now out of a job and will find it difficult to get back into football, so what does he do?
And while I am rambling - it does seem very odd that Alan Burrows baled out from a place he was secure unless he was tapped up by Aberdeen or was so hacked off by the Board he had had enough.
The Board, I assume, are well intentioned but you have to question their ability to do the job - a lot of this mess is on their doorstep.

[Handsome_Devil]

I suspect when emotions have died down Hammell will end up back at FP in whatever form.

Excellent summation although I think AB, like many of us in the same job, just ran out of energy, ideas etc and needs a new challenge. I doubt Aberdeen offered him a deal when they shouldn't but like everyone who networks he'd have been aware they'd be on the phone the instant he jumped.

[sieb1886]

The Board have to take a HUGE amount of responsibility for this whole debacle. They should have shipped out GA at the end of last season when it was clear his style of play was awful. You sit down with him and agree he needs to go with European qualification on his CV looking really good and that is the time to split amicably. You cut a deal.
Hammy was brought in as a temporary manager - he was available and he is not going to say no when asked to help HIS club out. The Board should then have said either “we are going for an experienced guy, do you want to be his assistant?” or “do you want the manager’s job, but you have to take an experienced number 2, not Brian Kerr?”.
Very difficult for Hammy to have turned down an offer to be Motherwell boss, especially when the Board are likely to be making very positive noises of support. In many ways it would be hard for him to stand there and say “No. I’ll just stay at the Academy.”
Sadly, he was out his depth and this was obvious towards the end of 2022. Again the Board should have taken the decision to terminate his contract earlier, then had time in which to make an appointment and give the new guy the window for recruitment.
I know hindsight is a great thing but there are three instances of when the Board failed to act on decisions that are their responsibility. As a result we have no manager, will need time to get a new one, a bunch of players recruited by guys no longer at Fir Park and who have found themselves in the middle of a real mess.
And where does Hammy go now? A man with a young family ( I think) who gave up a very safe job certainly in part because of his loyalty to the club. He doesn’t have the ability to be a manager, that’s clear, but he is now out of a job and will find it difficult to get back into football, so what does he do?
And while I am rambling - it does seem very odd that Alan Burrows baled out from a place he was secure unless he was tapped up by Aberdeen or was so hacked off by the Board he had had enough.
The Board, I assume, are well intentioned but you have to question their ability to do the job - a lot of this mess is on their doorstep.

A very sensible summation there Gowboy, and not much at all to argue with. Clearly there's something truly amiss at FP; what, who knows ... but 'the Fear' is here and not going anywhere any time soon