wellfan

It doesn’t have to be one or the other. As I’ve said, if you can’t grow or maintain grass, you’ve no business in the top league. That applies to us as well. We’ve had to spend heavily to fix past mistakes, and others should be expected to do the same. It’s not fair that some clubs effectively gain a bigger playing budget because maintaining a plastic pitch is significantly cheaper than grass or hybrid surfaces. And if you underinvest in your grass surface and ignore drainage issues, leaving tattie fields, there should be penalties to discourage it. This is a spectator sport. We wouldn’t accept a pockmarked cinema screen, so why accept substandard pitches? There should be a level playing field in the top flight for all. Pun intended.

These plastic pitches have no place in the top flight. I’ve said it before: if you can’t grow and maintain grass in Scotland, you’ve no business running a professional football club.

We need to be at 100mph today. Overrun them, overwhelm them from the off. Take an early lead and we come away with at least three goals today.

Devastated. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

If JBA stays, maybe Slattery does too. And surely the club can now afford to offer him a new deal on improved terms to reflect his importance.

This team needs a Slattery. We saw exactly how much it suffered during his recent suspension, and if he leaves, he’ll be a huge loss.

https://x.com/MotherwellFC/status/2048435860786332077/video/1

Fully expecting the officials to shaft us again today.

I was one of Ward’s biggest critics at the start of the season, but credit where it’s due. He’s not just a keeper benefitting from a good team, he’s a key part of why it’s good.

Nice username. Are you any relation of…

Yeh, I’m really pleased for Oxborough today, and get it right up the Falkirk fans.

The average NIMBY would swear the sky is green just because they can.

I admire the optimism, but I suspect you’re very much in the minority on this one. Two things can be true at once: the football may have improved, but the officiating has clearly worsened.

Given Michael Stewart has been banned for hurty words, I don’t expect them to ban Celtic and Rangers fans for actual violence and vandalism. That’s the reality of Scottish football.

Nothing to see here. Sweep, sweep.

I’d much rather listen to Michael Stewart than the likes of Chris Sutton and Kris Boyd. The latter two are critically illiterate, offering nothing of value to anyone other than Celtic and Rangers.

Yep, and as I’ve suggested previously on this forum, we’re now seeing the wagons circling to protect the clowns.

I’d hope, for Stama and the club’s sake, that a deal is struck allowing him to remain in Oz and bring his contract here to an end, as there’s no point in him coming back over here to rot. It would probably be beneficial for both parties though.

My point about a deteriorating product relates to poor officiating and VAR undermining the matchday experience, not the quality of football on display. I’ll still be renewing my season ticket, but with fans being asked to pay more each year, it’s reasonable to expect the club to advocate on our behalf and address the elephant in the room.

Five games without a win suggests something needs to change. I’m not saying we throw the baby out with the bathwater, but if Eythor is fit, he should be starting.

You’re confusing me with a rangers fan.

If the club expects fans to pay more for a product that is deteriorating due to poor officiating and VAR diminishing the matchday experience, it should at least commit to challenging the SFA over the decline in fan enjoyment. After all, this is meant to be an entertainment business. Otherwise, putting the improved footballing to one side, which is a separate matter, we are ultimately being asked to pay more for less, told to like it or lump it, and that is not sustainable. Folk will turn away soon enough.

The problem isn’t VAR itself; it’s the clowns running it.

I disagree. Blaming Slattery here gives the officials a pass. He’s already been punished, so anything that happens to him or his teammates following this should be judged on its own merits, not dragged in from previous incidents. We’ve already seen that different standard applied against Falkirk and Hearts. If officials can’t apply the laws fairly and impartially regardless of history, they shouldn’t be in the job. Suggesting a player or team can be refereed to a different standard because of the past just excuses poor officiating, normalises inconsistency and, at worst, bias. That’s on the referees, not the player.

He will be challenged. But, as I said elsewhere on the forum, he’ll contort to justify the decision.