Jay

Oh aye, that's obvious, I was just pointing out that - before anyone starts greeting about the fact we've lost Craig Brown as manager - it's actually not that big a blow. Or, at least, not as big a blow as hiring Gus McPherson or the likes as his replacement. For what it's worth, I've lost all respect for Brown. Mark McGhee was an absolute c**t who whored himself out at every available opportunity, but at least he never tried to hide it. If Brown knew there was any chance of him going to Pittodrie then he should have kept his mouth shut. All these soundbites and quotes about Motherwell, however, show that he was obviously just trying to play Stewart Milne and John Boyle off against each other to see who could give him the biggest transfer kitty. I assume Milne has made a few more assurances so he's offski. As I said, McGhee was a bawbag but he knew he was a bawbag and didn't particularly care what anyone else thought of him. Brown, on the other hand, has shown himself up to be a bit of a fanny who seems to hide behind his wee quiet and cuddly persona. Ladbrokes are offering evens on someone crying "Luc Nijholt is only a phone call away" by midnight.

I don't actually mind too much about Brown leaving. Let's be honest, it was never going to be a long-term partnership between club and manager. It's been a ridiculously cold couple of months - he could be pan-breed by the time winter's over. The thing that worries me is who we're going to bring in. Guys like Hughes and McPherson are bound to be interested... :wank:

Aye, cannae disagree with those that have said he must have had at least some interest in the job to meet them in the first place. Not that I particularly care, I would imagine the prospect of managing Aberdeen would be intriguing to some up until they found out there was no money and a shite squad. At the end of the day, if an absolute ganting munter asks you out for a drink you say "bolt", you don't go out with her out of "common courtesy".

I can actually understand the reasons it's off up to a point, but again it just seems like another example of how "football fan" is just another term for "idiot". If I'm a music lover who buys seating tickets for a gig that everyone stands and jumps about at, that's fine. If I'm a football fan who buys seating tickets for a football match that people want to stand up at, I could face getting thrown out as obviously football fans do not have the mental capabilities to not fall over. If I'm a punter on a wee day out up north and fancy having a few beers on the train, that's fine. If I'm a football fan who fancies having a few beers on the train to a game, I could face getting the jail as obviously football fans do not have the maturity not to get wasted and cause trouble. If I'm a shopper who fancies joining the masses at the Glasgow Fort when it's snowing and icy outside, that's fine. If I'm a football fan who intends on goin to a match when it's snowing and icy outside, I am told I'm not allowed as obviously football fans are of lesser intelligence than other humans and cannot be trusted to walk/drive in such conditions. I don't doubt for a second that there are complete idiots who would hurt themselves trying to stand at the football, would get drunk and start riots on trains, and would fall flat on their faces on the ice - but that's because there is a percentage of idiots amongst human beings, not just football fans. I hope global warming doesn't mean this sort of weather more frequently otherwise football fans will become a species on the brink of extinction as we fail to survive in the winter conditions.

I'm happy, I couldn't be arsed going to the game today anyway. But I'd prefer it if it had been a frozen pitch. The idea that football fans are so stupid they can't be expected to make their way to a football stadium without hurting themselves because there's a bit of snow and ice is a fucking joke.

Has Levein actually come out and said that? I know the natural reply to that would be "well obviously if a manager calls up a right back then he wanted a right back", but this isn't a normal manager we're talking about anymore. There's really no justification for him wanting a right back for this squad. Not only did he already have Caddis and Bardsley in the friendly squad, but Hutton and Whittaker are our 1st and 2nd picks respectively already. We're crying out for a left-back though If you're correct and Levein did decide he needed another right back in the squad, then I can see your point about that ruling out Reynolds et al. But it just throws up another point that proves Levein is a complete mong.

No, the only real ridiculous statements here are those from people making the dangerous assumption that every footballer's mentality is the same. Unless Steven Saunders is a complete idiot, he'll know all the chat after the original Scotland squad was named was all about Mark Reynolds, Jamie Murphy and Chris Humphrey, and still is after his inclusion. He'll know more than anyone that he's still to be a regular for Motherwell and I'd hazard a guess that there's a pretty good chance he'll know that the majority (if not all) 'Well fans - and general Scottish football fans - believe he isn't as deserving a cap as the other Motherwell players I've mentioned. Now, he'll either go to Pittodrie determined to prove those facts wrong and come back a more confident player having played a good part in a convincing win. But simply assuming that's the natural way of things is a very naive view of things. There's every chance he could be a part of another terrible international night under Levein which could hamper his career. We're not talking about a young starlet who has taken the SPL by storm and is being capped because he deserves it. We're talking about a Motherwell substitute who has been called up ahead of a much, much more deserving defender - a decision most Motherwell fans can't even understand. It all depends on what happens tomorrow night but it also all depends on his own mentality. I don't pretend to know what that mentality is, and neither should anyone else.

It's not really a ridiculous statement. Steven Saunders is still a young player at the very early stages of development. This is a very shaky looking Scotland squad with an absolute plum in charge. Anything other than a convincing win tomorrow, and the players who play in the match (as well as the gaffer) will get an absolute pasting. You've got to question just how strong Stevie's mentality is at this young age if that were to happen. If we were to lose or draw tomorrow night in a game that Stevie Saunders plays apart in, his confident could take a huge blow considering the media backlash that would occur in the aftermath. Such a damaging blow would undoubtedly hamper his development. In fact, there's a number of players who have fallen at such a hurdle early on in their careers. Far from being a ridiculous statement, I think it's a very sensible one. This isn't a call-up for a Scotland squad under Walter Smith where you'd feel confident that the player would be protected and the team would win. This is a Scotland squad under a speccy mongo who could seriously hamper Saunders career within the space of a few days if it all goes tits up tomorrow, which is looking like an possibility more and more with every passing minute.

I thought he played well but then I never thought he was anywhere near as a bad a player as some folk seem to get a chubby out of proclaiming he is, so I'm not exactly surprised. He's always been a decent midfielder and he showed that tonight.

Cracking result, pass marks for everyone - not really much more to add, games like tonight are a joy to witness when they come along. We are fuckin' brilliant.

Cos we're shite at home.

Cracking day out as always, although the low points - like everyone else has mentioned - involved the police. Train up was a good laugh. Had 12 tins taken off me at Queen Street while the old bill were building their cargo for the police Christmas party, but thankfully me and the Spaniards had pre-planned with about a dozen bottles of coke filled with vodka and Morgans. Seemed a bit pointless making the Glasgow to Perth train dry given the Perth to Inverness train blatantly wasn't. Cracking atmosphere in the Sports Bar pre-match and good to hear that one of the toothless h**s got lamped. Somehow ended up in the back of a works van with a few other lads for a run to the game. The game itself was decent, thought we deserved the win overall though Caley looked good as well. Marcos was having a great time bouncing about with the 'Well fans but he was obviously enjoying himself a little too much as he was chucked out at half-time for no real apparent reason. Anyway, walked back to the centre, few pints in the Sports Bar, the Spaniards headed off to their hostel (they stayed over), and ended up on the same train as Fritz et al on the way home - myself, Sparra and Craig managed to sneak a bottle of vodka onto the train in the guise of some Volvic so there was no sight of a dry train home. The police were a joke though, thankfully a handful of us managed a "one by one" Great Escape style departure to another carriage which was bouncing til the old bill clocked on. Some of the police officer's antics were a shambles, far worse than any football fan I spotted the whole day, and the one officer that we ended up talking too away from his colleagues seemed genuinely embarrassed what he was apart of. But still, I'd warned Marcos and Alex before we left that if you were a football fan in Scotland you were automatically a second class citizen so he wasn't overly upset at being thrown out and he text me yesterday when he got home to say he had an outstanding day out!

I'm away to town for a booze - if anyone wants one of these vouchers, outwith those I've already spoken to, just give me a shout tomorrow morning at Queen Street!

Went to Sainsburys in Hamilton, purchased my dry train cargo, and walked out with eight Scotrail vouchers (I only asked for one!) So aye, as I said - I don't expect there to be anyone checking for the vouchers, but with something like Scotrail you always run the risk of encountering a jobsworth arsehole out for a power trip. So it looks like I've got a few extra vouchers on the go! If anyone spots me tomorrow and wants just to cover all bases, give me a shout and a voucher's yours! Or if anyone decides at the last minute to go with the £18 return (leaving Queen Street at 8.41am) using the promo code "SAINSBURYS10" then let me know and I'll give ye a voucher tomorrow morning. Looking forward to this now, but not as much as the Spaniards seem to be!!

When was that mate? According to the Scotrail site, the vouchers were only dished out between 20th September and 10th of October. I need to buy my cargo anyway, so I might as well do it as Sainsburys and see. Normally I wouldn't care and I'd just chance it, but I'd rather be safer than sorry given its two Spaniards I'm taking up!

Anyone know the actual chances of them looking for the Sainsburys voucher for every two train tickets? Just dawned on me that when I pick up Alex's ticket at Queen Street, I'll need to hand over the voucher so we'd be getting on the train without one. I'm happy to chance it, but when I explained the situation to Alex - he's pretty paranoid now, and I think he's having second thoughts!

Thought it was worth pointing out that the terms & conditions for the Sainburys thing state that you need to have the wee voucher thing with you to validate your tickets. Now, the chances of them actually giving a fuck are probably pretty slim, but thought I'd let folk know anyway, given there's probably a lot of folk who've just used the code without having the voucher. There's three of us with one voucher, so either we're all getting on or someone's getting left at home!

Scrap that! I just assumed the Sainbury's deal would no longer be on the go, but I've just booked Alex a return (8.41 out, back at 18:43) for £18! Tickets to be picked up at Queen Street on Saturday! The Motherwell Armada sets sail!!

I know there's pretty much no chance, but if anyone has a spare Friends Fare for the 8.41am or decides they cannae be arsed with the dry trains and snow then let me know! My Spanish mate Marcos who's coming up has just text me to say that his fellow Spaniard Alex fancies going as well. Don't think of it as just giving your spare train ticket away, think of it as potentially boosting the long-term Motherwell support with two Glasgow-based Spaniards...

He who dares wins!

Ach well, that's the cargo decided then - few cans for Glasgow to Perth, and a few easily hidden tipples for the rest of the journey. Just another case of football fans being treated as second class citizens!

Oh aye, always! When did this shite start anyway? I've not been up to Inverness for a few seasons now, but boozing was never a problem in the past.

Any more chat about this dry train nonsense?

Is that some kind of sick joke?

Old Firm in kept apart shocker. Bring these scumbags on, in about this shite.