Jay

Exactly. At the moment, obviously not considering what happens in the 1st leg, I'd be perfectly confident of going into the game at Fir Park and winning it. Our home form is good, we are capable of creating a lot of chances, and Rangers are not only mediocre at best, but I think I'm right in saying McGregor will miss the 2nd leg meaning either Mohsni or McCulloch will at the back against Skippy. Therefore, it all comes down to getting a half decent result on Thursday. We have been poor away from home this season & always have the ability to bottle it so it's a massive challenge by any means, but if we stay organised, play well, get a bit of luck and, crucially, don't shite the bed (which, although probably the hardest thing to avoid, isn't impossible), there is no reason not to go into Sunday's game with an excellent chance of staying up. This is a massive challenge but we are our own biggest enemy, Rangers are absolutely dreadful. Keep the tie alive on Thursday and I'd fancy us to do them at Fir Park. Essentially, just do our jobs properly - both individually and as a team - and we'll win the tie.

The chat seems to be that their settled XI and the way they will line up on Thursday is: Bell Foster McGregor Zaliukas Wallace Shiels Murdoch Law Vuckic Clark Miller That's a team almost entirely made up of average SPL players IMO. Don't get me wrong, teams of average SPL players have beaten us often enough this season - hence we are where we are - but over 180 minutes of football there is absolutely no reason why we can't beat that team. Only Wallace and Vuckic are actually particularly good, and the likes of an on-form, actually-trying Ainsworth, Johnson, Pearson and McDonald would walk into that side. As I said earlier, if there's one week to actually be positive and optimistic, it's this one. This is a game between two mediocre football sides and, therefore, we actually do have a chance. In fact, for me, a one goal defeat, draw, or Motherwell win on Thursday will set us up to win the tie overall. This mob are fucking shite and no amount of their fans greeting about allocations or our fans greeting about a foregone conclusion changes that. Mon the 'Well.

Aye, bless.

The password to unlock the PM facility is "ZOMBIE2012". You don't need to enter it anywhere, you just need to post it up on a thread like this one.

Same mate. Was a bit para about getting tickets for Ibrox the longer things dragged on but now that I've got tickets for both legs sorted I can definitely feel the optimism starting to build. After a few pre-match pints on Thursday afternoon I'll be utterly convinced we're staying up. As much as I recognise the reality of our situation, if you're going to pick one week as a Motherwell fan to be positive, optimistic and hopeful it might as well be this one.

Being there, I'm entirely certain the actual questioning was along the lines of: Q: "Season ticket prices are to be frozen - will that remain the case even if we are relegated?" LH: "Yes." Q: "Do you think that is fair though? Some people just can't afford to keep putting so much money into the club." LH: "Don't buy a season ticket then." The questioner, who's posted above, can no doubt confirm either way. I don't think anyone is "that upset" by it though. It was mentioned above so is worth commenting on. I've already said I don't for a second believe it was a cheeky or deliberately dismissive reply, it was just ill-judged and didn't seem to take into account that it was a genuine concern from a Motherwell supporter.

I certainly don't think his intention was to be cheeky or offensive, but I couldn't help but cringe a bit at his answer. If a Motherwell fan puts forward the acceptable point that it might be deemed as unfair that season tickets don't drop if we go down because a lot of people simply can't afford to keep putting money into the club, it isn't the best reply from Les to open with the line "well don't buy a season ticket then". As I said, I don't think for a second that he was trying to dismiss the point or be an arse about it, but it was a pretty disappointing reply from a millionaire tax exile to someone genuinely concerned about being too skint to follow their football side. He could have handled the question far, far better.

This is it exactly. Les is a "love him, hate him" figure essentially, depending on your point of view. His honesty and straight talking is admirable, as is his desire to give the Society a chance to succeed. For those already supporting the Well Society, this will be the main aspects of Les's character that they focus on and applaud. There's no question that he's quite arrogant though IMO. That's fine and won't be an issue for those already supporting the Society. But it starts causing a problem for those not yet persuaded by it. There were certainly a few negative comments & exasperated voices around me during some of Les's comments which, at times, were perceived as patronising lectures and demands the 'Well support prove themselves to him. I don't think there's any doubt that both these descriptions of Les are pretty spot on, it just then comes down to whether more people are being put off by his arrogance than are being won over by his honesty, or vice-versa. Personally, I see no harm in pointing out his ego and arrogance will have a negative effect on some Motherwell fans, as it clearly did last night, and it wouldn't take much just to stick to the straight-talking honesty without folk feeling lectured at by a millionaire. I've been a Society member since 2012 so it doesn't really bother me too much personally, but I can certainly see why some people get a little irked by some of Les's comments or tone.

For podcast #30 we were joined by fanzine editor, author, Coca Cola advert star, & former-WellTrust FC gaffer Matt "fatcalf" Johnstone... Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bytheminsport/bytheminmfc-podcast-30 Libsyn: http://traffic.libsyn.com/bytheminmfc/podcast30_1.mp3

Both Accies and Thistle were two of the most unacceptable performances for me this season. We have played worse in other matches in terms of chances created etc, however the way in which we completely folded in both games after failing to get an early goal was unreal. Once we went behind in both matches we turned into a team of cowards. For me, if you're just not good enough ability wise as a team then, as disappointing as any defeat is, it's still an acceptable way to lose a football match. However, chucking any determination, desire and bravery once it looks like you're not going to score first is completely unacceptable and both the Thistle and Accies games dropped into that category for me. That was the point I tried to make on the podcast but given I was incredibly hungover and possibly still a little bit drunk when we recorded it, I'm not entirely sure how it sounded! As for Lawless, I don't remember the chat about it being a gamble but I do remember being disappointed when we released him given he'd looked a real prospect at the time. Regardless though, any chat about whether or not we should have kept a player is going to be based almost entirely on hindsight.

Just a wee bump as I notice the podcast links have gotten a little bit lost in amongst the POTY chat. In case you've missed it, this week's podcast with Fir Park stadium announcer Philip Speedie is on iTunes as usual, as well as: Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/bytheminsport/bytheminmfc-podcast-27 Libsyn: http://traffic.libsyn.com/bytheminmfc/podcast27_1.mp3 You can also catch Motherwell legend and previous podcast guest Brian Martin's career dream-team: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1R4HnuljoA&feature=youtu.be

Unfortunately he's always been fighting a losing battle as he was a target for some as a "lazy signing" by McCall before he'd even kicked a ball. Still not entirely sure how that was actually his fault, but negativity towards him was quite evident from early on because of it. He works hard and tends not to chuck it quite as easily as his team-mates. In fact, during the absolute doing at Dens Park when we appeared to have a team of players resigned to relegation already, Law was the only player bursting his arse for the full 90 minutes. He's managed to make the right-back position his own despite being in a squad of right-backs. He does a fairly average job there, nothing more and nothing else, and there are a number of players who have performed worse than Law on a consistent basis. For that reason I think he gets a bit of stick that's unmerited - perhaps because he's less fashionable than some of our other players. I'd be content to keep him as a squad player for next season, someone who can come in and put a shift in when required due to suspension or injury, but I certainly wouldn't be looking to him as a long-term first choice player.

It's pretty simple to be honest - we decided that, unlike most other awards, we'd have an expected standard or level of performance that would have to be met first, in order to ensure the actual award was deserved. The completely laboured and largely soul-destroying process of trying to convince folk that they might be able to justify voting for someone made it very clear that that level hadn't been met. We then looked at the U20s and found a number of players could be considered candidates for a specifically U20s award but that Dom Thomas was the clear stand-out. I still don't think it's particularly newsworthy but then I'm constantly surprised at what is and isn't deemed reportable in the mainstream media... So that's STV News and the Scottish Sun so far - I wonder where we'll turn up next!

As explained above, the award was changed from a first-team award to the U20s POTY so therefore no, that isn't "it". The decision to do so may be borne out of fans' frustrations but he has had a fantastic season with the U20s, including being the top goalscorer. How well he has done in his limited game time in the first-team is irrelevant to an U20s award. As for how you would personally vote, that's fine. I would normally agree. As I mentioned on the podcast, Kenny McLean for example would probably have won the St Mirren POTY if he was still there and they finish bottom (he might still do!) - because he was a stand out. But there's a way to lose football matches and there's even a way to finish bottom (see the Faddy/Pearo/Hammell admin season for a pretty good example). That's usually because you work hard and battle away but you're just not good enough. None of us felt that was an accurate description of our season. Unfortunately, we had the situation where the deadline had to be continually moved because many of the folk taking part couldn't justify voting for anyone or simply refused to pick someone due to there being nobody deserving of it. There are so many awards in football nowadays, and all of them come with an automatic expectation that they'll just be dished out regardless - we took the decision that a Player of the Year award should be earned by the Player of the Year, not simply handed to the least awful Player of the Year. And, having made that decision, Dom Thomas was our choice of U20s POTY (not first-team POTY).

Yeah, it was a unanimous decision to scrap the first team award but we also wanted to try and turn the negative side of it into a bit of a positive by shining a light on a good season for the U20s. Given we all follow the U20s with interest, particularly Sparra who's been at a number of games this season, we felt we could make an informed decision on the winner of an U20s award. We certainly wouldn't have done it otherwise! But aye, Dom Thomas has been a stand-out in a good season for the U20s with a number of great performances from numerous players throughout the year. Regardless, I don't think we expected such a move would make the Sun...

Just for the record, I'm actually opposed to the badger cull.

Another cracking podcast, particularly that new intro...

As Sparra says, given he picked Goram ahead of a good few keepers he mentions suggests it's a career XI. In fairness, I'd imagine the best players he played with would have been at Fir Park anyway, given his other clubs? Maybe the odd Hearts player I suppose.

I love doing the podcast but the career XI thing is a particular highlight now - great stuff!

I think it's a slight advantage given it's largely out of our hands, presuming we actually win the games. It's not unlike choosing to go first in a penalty shoot-out, with the belief that you take care of doing your own thing first and then shift the emphasis onto the opponent. Again though, it's only an advantage if we win them obviously!

Oh aye, it wasn't in response to you at all - it was in response to the thread as a whole.

We can debate about whether or not we'll go down and what it might mean in the short-term and long-term, but I think debating whether you look at such a terrible moment in the club's history with pure negativity or with a positive spin is a waste of time (as seems to be happening on occasion) - purely because it's human nature and therefore not really debatable. That's why it seems largely meaningless for some folk to be getting angry or annoyed that others aren't subscribing to the same negative or positive viewpoint they have of it. We all love Motherwell F.C. and getting relegated would leave us all gutted. It would be a very disappointing and hugely negative event. When events like that occur folk generally respond in one of two ways. If you lose your job, you'll probably either be incredibly angry and upset or you'll tell yourself it's an opportunity to do something new. If your missus dumps you, you'll probably either slip into a depression or you'll convince yourself you can do better anyway. If the football club you've supported all your life gets relegated, you'll probably either immerse yourself in the negative aspects of it or you'll try and focus on any positive slants you can put on it. That's why for every person suggesting relegation will be a catastrophe, there is someone else saying "well, at least there'll be some interesting away games". It's not about being "happy clappy" or a "doom merchant", and it's certainly not about anyone caring any more or any less than anyone else, it's just how individuals react to a fucking shite state of affairs differently. There's no right or wrong way to respond to a very negative and devastating event but it's hardly worth debating human nature, or getting frustrated because you can't understand why someone else is on the other side of the fence to you.

Oh aye, I agree entirely - I'm not saying that we shouldn't be absolutely gutted if we go down, of course we should. Relegation is a horrible thing for any club to have to go through, particularly a club like ours which has done so well over the course, particularly in recent seasons. Just because folk try to focus on any positives, like a different fixture list or a chance of maybe challenging for something, doesn't mean they're feeling any less shite about going down. I just never quite get the finality folk seem to attach to it - like going down is some final conclusion when, in reality, it is just a different chapter in the club's history. If we are in the First Division next year, I imagine most of us will still be going, Steelmen Online will still have debates raging, the podcast will still be being recorded (hopefully!), and I don't believe folk will have as quite a shite time as they seem to think!

To go from slating folk on here who are "holier than thou" to standing up for the "ordinary people trying to put food on their table" so quickly is actually quite impressive! Of course relegation has big, negative effects both on and off the park, I'm not sure anyone has actually denied this. For some staff members or players, relegation will almost certainly be a disaster. However, if you genuinely believe that most ordinary fans are "a bit glum" about relegation because an office staff member might lose their job then I think you're being incredibly naive. My point, quite clearly, was that if we go down the supporters who want to continue supporting their side in the First Division will do so, and will probably continue to have a reasonably good time doing so - given that's essentially what following a football team is supposed to be, enjoyable. Personally, as much as I really don't want us to be relegated, if we do go down then I know for a fact I'll enjoy some different away days and the novelty of playing other teams from the usual - if that makes me a part of the hilariously named "hipster brigade of fantastic fans" then so be it but I enjoy following my team and I will continue to do so whether we're in the SPL next season or not. Nobody wants us to be relegated - the difference is whether you choose to approach it by immersing yourself in all the negative aspects of it, or accepting it has happened outwith our control as fans (if it indeed does) and focussing on any perceived silver linings. There's no right way of dealing with it, but just because folk don't choose the same mind-set as you doesn't mean they're "burying their head in the sand".

I'd agree with this. For me, between making the right-back slot his own and being the only player who has seemed to put in 100% for the entire season Josh Law deserves another deal. He'll not be on anything major money wise and even if we bring in better players, he's one to have around in the squad for back up. I think I'd actually be quite disappointed if we let him go to be honest.