MJC

Don’t deserve to be behind on the balance of play but the problem is we are absolutely toothless up front. Bair won’t do I’m afraid. A lot of effort but he just can’t be relied upon to lead the line for us.

Happy enough with that lineup. Hopefully we do the business and take care of these Paisley boneheed fuckwits.

Given the injuries/suspension list then we’ll be doing well to get a point tomorrow. That said since SK has been in charge he has shown that he is capable of getting the very best out of the players he has available so you never know. I stand by my 2-2 prediction.

Well us for starters. Also I think you could say the same for Partick Th, Killie and a fair few others in the west of Scotland. Even if you look east, north east to be more precise, Aberdeen seem to base a lot of their identity nowadays on their hatred and rivalry with Rangers Yes and though I appreciate dennyc's kind words of support I don't feel that I have been on the end of any abuse over my views on Hearts on this thread. I simply give my opinion based on my own experiences and respect that others will have different opinions based on different experiences. I don't conform to groupthink and I am not a parrot so I'm not going to start rattling on about what Hearts fans did in the 70s (before my time) or pretending that I believe that they are worse than Aberdeen or Hibs etc. That's all.

I don’t love Hearts or hate the National team. I’m not a Hearts supporter but do have a grudging degree of respect for them as a club for their strong identify and impressive support. I actually did the Tynecastle museum tour quite recently and it gives a real insight into their origins and history and their proud standing as a club. “We don’t have supporters, we have the heart and soul of Edinburgh” is a slogan which you see around the ground and the museum and I think that’s impressive, as football club slogans go. Unlike so many non Old Firm clubs in Scotland they are a club which stand alone with their own roots and identity and don’t worry or fret about how they look to OF fans or have this desperate need to be an “alternative to the Old Firm” or anything. And yes, I fully accept that there will be some arseholes in their fanbase, just like any other club. The National Team I am simply indifferent to. I have done the stadium/museum tour at Hampden too though I might add.

Ffs this is getting beyond a joke now with our injuries.

Oh, okay. 🦜

Just reporting my own experience of it all. I have no doubt that there are other Motherwell fans who’s experience with Hearts and their fans is different and therefore they hold a degree of disdain for them. In my personal experience they are largely alright, if a bit on the arrogant side in some cases. Would you prefer if I just nodded along and went “I fucking hate those Scumbos! Just as bigoted as Rangers! John Colquhoun! Neil Berry! Gorgie Road! Texaco Cup! FHW! Bastards! Grrrrrrrrrrghhh!” ??

That’s international weekends for you. The sooner the real football is back the better. It’ll be a tight one on Saturday, would love a win but think this one’s a draw. 2-2

In the case of Partick Thistle they are seen in football and Glasgow culture as a cuddly wee alternative to the Old Firm in the city, therefore they get a fair bit more favourable media attention than we do.

The influence does indeed extent to Rangers albeit to a lesser extent than it does to Celtic. Thereafter it extends to Aberdeen(albeit they are second only to Celtic on Radio Scotland) l, Dundee Utd and then the two Edinburgh clubs. Walter Smith when at Rangers definitely did hold a lot of sway with the media but in the last 10-12 years there is no question, imo, that Celtic are the club who are the most powerful and thus hold the most power and influence over the media and the rest of Scottish football. To bring it back to the context of Saturdays game, ideally we and SK call out Dunne and St.Mirren and ‘ask for protection’ from the officials but as been said, we don’t have the clout that bigger clubs do so it would get very little exposure in the media.

Scotland had a goalkeeper playing the other night who has represented England right up to u21 level. It was only when he realised he wasn’t getting a sniff at full international level for them that he decided to be ‘Scottish’. That is but one tiny example of why I think international football is fake. You can’t or shouldn’t be able to just choose your nationality. If you or anyone else enjoys watching Scotland then that’s up to you. I don’t and have little to no interest in it and that’s that. They absolutely do influence the news. Alot of the press in this country know to toe the party line for Celtic otherwise they would be out of a job or their lives made a misery. Therefore whatever Rodgers or anyone connected to Celtic says, no matter how small or irrelevant it will get exposure and won’t be challenged by anyone in the press. One of the best examples I can provide is that of Neil Lennon. No matter what he did, whoever he argued with, squared up to, or whatever set of fans he openly goaded, his stooges in the media always backed him to the hilt and played the sectarian card for him.

Louis Moult scores again for Dundee Utd today. Lower level or not he has certainly had a very good start with them.

That’s obviously why we didn’t sign him. Clearly when he said on Open Goal that he was holding out for a move that gave him a “buzz” he meant he hadn’t found a club at that point that were prepared to pay him handsomely. And now he has.

At 36 he probably has. Though I still think he could have done a job for us in the SPFL. Not to be though unfortunately.

Steven Fletcher signs for Wrexham.

I do speak for myself. I’ve just go no interest in international football and find it boring, fake and a complete pain in the arse that gets in the way of the real stuff. The only positive for me is as you say it gives our injured players the opportunity to recover, hopefully anyway.

Possibly, possibly not but that’s irrelevant. Walter Smith hasn’t been the Rangers manager for over ten years while Brendan Rodgers is the current Celtic manager. Therefore he does hold alot more sway with the media than our manager ever could and that is the point being made here.

Agreed but we wouldn’t get anywhere near half the exposure that Rodgers would get so it wouldn’t have the same effect. The manager of Celtic will always have a huge amount of clout in the media but Brendan Rodgers is on a different level and it seems like every journalist and pundit hangs on his every word like he’s the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Every clubs support has a bad element who can be aggressive and hostile to opposition fans, us included. Indeed we have an element of our support who are aggressive and hostile to other Motherwell fans. I appreciate a lot of Motherwell fans from the generation slightly older than myself report plenty of bad experiences with Hearts fans particularly during the 70s, 80s and into the 90s but I’ve never personally seen anything from them to suggest they are in any way worse than the rest. For me Aberdeen fans are alot more aggressive, angry and downright nastier as a collective than either of the Edinburgh clubs.

Everything about international football is pish. I really don’t see why they don’t play more qualifiers in June of the year that there is no Euros or World Cup instead of having these breaks once a month for the first three months of the season.

He should certainly be getting dogs abuse for his nigh on assault on Biereth the other week. Him, Robinson and the rest of the thunderdomers should all be getting it tight.

Seriously? When have St.Mirren ever filled the South Stand without having to also be given part of the PO’D and end up buying home end tickets? Even the Old Firm aren’t given part of the POD any more.

I think it’s highly unlikely bordering on impossible for any side outwith the two Old Firm clubs to win the league again in Scotland but if any club has a realistic chance of it then it’s Hearts IMO. I don’t see it happening because of the gap in finances but they are the only club with the correct mentality to go on and win the league or “do a Leicester” if you like.

Firstly, yes I am sure I am on the right forum. Secondly, “they are as bigoted as ra gers and pretty hostile and unfriendly bunch in my experiance” well if that’s your experience of them then that’s fine. It’s not mine though. I’ve always found Hearts fans (that I have encountered anyway) to be passionate supporters of their club and are fiercely proud of their own identity as a club and a support. Unlike alot of our support(and some others no doubt) they don’t allow what the Old Firm fans may or may not think of them to dictate what they say/sing/what type of kits they release. They are their own club and embrace that and I for one respect them for that. I don’t ‘like’ Hearts and I love beating them but I envy their support and the way they back their club and team.