Jay

It we got about £300,000 for Mark Reynolds I'd be delighted, but £1,000,000!?

That depends on who he wants to bring in. If it's a couple of players who are out of contract, then the transfer window shutting in two days is irrelevant.

Randolph for me. I want to see the save in the first half again as it looked absolutely outstanding, he also had a couple of tremendous punches from crosses, and a few other saves during the course of the game.

I didn't see the ref flash a yellow card. Looked like he'd given a straight red to me.

I'm giving up reading threads in the club section on here due as I cannae be arsed reading some of the absolute shite that gets posted, so apologies if I'm just repeating anyone... Anyway, don't want to comment too much on the game as there's not much to say. We looked tired after midweek and void of ideas. Celtic were by far the better team and if they hadn't won the penalty I don't have any doubts they'd have forced a goal eventually anyway. As for the penalty, it looked a plain dive from where I was. I'm not going to start foaming at the mouth about it though, because I was quite happy when Jim O'Brien was winning us penalties last year, or Jamie Murphy dived in the last minute to win us a penalty at Ibrox. What does get on my box is the fact that, again from where I was, Maloney looked as though he could have scored if he'd wanted to - he had a least as good a chance of scoring from where he was than the player hitting the penalty. So why go down? Because he knew by doing so he'd not only win the penalty, he'd get Steven Saunders sent off. That's what does my nut in. Going down to win a foul - be it in the box or out of it - isn't particularly good, but it's part of the game. But throwing yourself down knowing it's going to get a fellow professional red carded is fucking pathetic. How should Maloney's antics be looked at any differently that what McGregor and Lafferty did, pretending to be headbutted in order to get a man sent off?

I think I just died a little inside.

I'm very much in the "the atmosphere wasn't good enough" camp, but that line there is absolute nonsense. Money shouldn't matter?! Not everyone lists Motherwell F.C. as high up in the financial priority list as others. Claiming money shouldn't matter when it comes to supporting the 'Well is an absolutely ridiculous statement.

What are actually the rules about the club actively encouraging an atmosphere? I got a text earlier today from a Spanish mate. He's been keen to come to a Motherwell game for a while now but I've told him to wait for an away game so there's at least a half decent day out and atmosphere, because he'll find home games at Fir Park shite (he couldn't even get his head around the fact that a 13,000 seater stadium only gets about 4,500 for league games). Anyway, his text earlier said "What are the chances of getting tickets for the Ultras area for the Motherwell game this weekend?"

Indeed. Just as well I wasn't actually comparing the atmosphere in Hampden to Fir Park and was just showing how standing up directly improves the atmosphere.

I couldn't care less what other ground's are like with regards to atmosphere. So we shouldn't aspire to improve the atmosphere at Fir Park because St Mirren fans sit in silence? Quite a poor attitude to have. Of course a better atmosphere would have helped the team, even it was just slightly. It's surely obvious to anyone that if players (especially younger players) are a little nervy or feel up against it, then some will take a mental boost from a big backing from the stands. No one is remotely suggesting that an improved atmosphere would have sent us sailing into the group stages - but the fact remains that Craig Brown, and a few of the players, requested as good an atmosphere as possible, and the Motherwell support wasn't nearly as vocal as it could have been IMO. There is a great atmosphere created at Hampden at times (Italy & France at home for example), due mainly to the standing en masse by the fans in the West & North Stands where no one sits down. The best atmospheres I can remember being in at away Motherwell games also involved standing. It's not even up for debate that standing goes hand in hand with an improved atmosphere.

Celtic are shite. 2-1 Motherwell.

Of course it's not the same, but that's not the debate. Plenty of football fans around the globe manage to stand at a seat and get a cracking atmosphere going, and plenty of Motherwell fans are quick to greet about how they're not allowed to stand. Suddenly there's a potentially historic football match requiring a big atmosphere at Fir Park where everyone can get away with standing up, and most folk sit on their arses!

Yes and no, the stewards were perfectly happy to let people stand last night. We were told to sit down, and I heard numerous other people being told to sit down - not by stewards or police, but by Motherwell fans. So yes, you're right in that standing would have undoubtedly increased the atmosphere - but the only reason Motherwell fans weren't standing was because they couldn't be arsed doing so.

Thought I’d wait til today to post up my thoughts on last night, so I wasn’t doing it in the immediate aftermath. Of course, like most of us, I’m still pretty gutted anyway! I don’t want to go over and over some of the points that have already been made again and again – just going to mention the game, Odense and the Motherwell fans... Firstly, I just want to thank the players and the staff for the European run. We’ve fallen unfairly at the final hurdle, but we can be proud at what we’ve done so far in the season. Put aside the opponents this round – the UEFA seeding is organised so that as many seeded teams get into the big tournaments as possible so it’s a more glamorous competition. The Europa League is no different and we went into this round as the unfancied and, basically in the eyes of the UEFA seeding system, the unwanted team. And yet, over the two legs we were the better side. In the first leg we just edged it, and were unfortunately to lose 2-1. Last night we were undoubtedly the better team – even the BBC stats show an overwhelming indication of how we should have won last night. Over both legs we looked like the seeded team, and last night we played well, put in a lot of effort, created enough chances to be in today’s draw, and even had some luck with the opposition going down to nine men and receiving a penalty near the end. There’s no debating about it – we should have beaten Odense last night, and not even with the aid of extra time. But alas, it wasn’t to be and we will never, ever have a better chance at the group stages – which is perhaps the hardest pill to swallow. But we can still be proud of the performance last night. I’m perfectly happy with all the players performances last night – one or two didn’t play to their best, but that happens from time to time in football and the most important thing is every player appeared to give 100%. We surely all know by now that sometimes you can play well and dominate the game, but it’s just one of those nights where the ball won’t hit the back of the net? Last night was the perfect example of that, and the Odense players and fans should be breathing a huge sigh of relief and recognising that they’re extremely lucky to be facing the prospect of getting absolutely horsed in every group stage match (which they will, because they’re a mediocre side). If we still had Jutkiewicz, we’d be in the group stages IMO as all we were missing last night was someone to put the ball in the net. A wee word on Odense then. From some of the comments from their fans and players, they seemed to think the tie was in the bag. And, score wise, they have been proved right. But it would take a very blinkered Danish fan indeed to try and claim they deserved to win the tie and deny that Motherwell were the better team in both games. I’ve noticed some posts about the conduct of the Odense players. I’ve got to agree in that some of it was very embarrassing – plenty of diving, playacting, and time wasting on show. But that’s European football, something we’re still very naive to. We don’t see it very often in Scotland (and personally I’m delighted with that) but in Europe, it’s common place and a big part of the game. I think a balance also has to be recognised with regards to the conduct by the opposition last night – yes, the time wasting (especially by Carroll) before the penalty was absolutely pathetic and unprofessional, but on the flipside – when the referee ordered a drop ball at our throw in because an over-enthusiastic ball boy chucked an extra ball on, the Odense player could have easily launched the ball back to Randolph or even belted it out for a throw in down near the corner in the Motherwell half. Instead, he showed a great deal of sportsmanship given they were under the cosh and holding onto a slender lead by knocking the ball out for a shy in the same position it went out in the first place. That’s a touch of class you wouldn’t see from a lot of players, so I think that needs to be recognised if we’re also going to batter the embarrassing antics by the Odense players. A few thoughts on our fans. The atmosphere was pretty poor IMO. Maybe I just expect too much from a home support. Basically, the atmosphere was great, and then the game started. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration – it was good for about the first 5-10 minutes, then everybody sat on their arses and watched on quietly, albeit for the odd song that most folk joined in with. I don’t for a minute claim that every Motherwell fan should be singing and dancing, but for a one off game that could potentially be our biggest result in history is it a lot to ask for a decent atmosphere? There was the usual choir down the end of the East Stand, then wee sporadic pockets of individuals or groups of us spread out, but the majority seemed to just lack any particular effort to get involved. Numerous times we would be trying to get a chant going or joining in with one, and I’d turn round to see a load of glaikit, unimpressed faces staring back. I don’t buy the excuse that it’s nerves that spoil the atmosphere, but for argument sake I’ll accept that. So why then, when we go 1-0 down, and therefore have nothing to lose does it remain poor? Christ, during the stages of the game where the players needed that extra bit of backing and support, the majority seem more content to sit there feeling sorry for themselves. There’s plenty of ‘Well fans who are quite happy to berate a player the first minute he doesn’t do the job requested by the gaffer, and yet large quantities of the crowd seemed perfectly happy not to do the job requested by the gaffer – Craig Brown made numerous pleas for an outstanding and intimidating atmosphere last night, and the Motherwell support did not oblige. Also, I came on here last night and read through the posts after the game expecting everyone to be gutted, disappointed, upset, whatever, but commenting on how we created chances and should have won. I foolishly thought that last night, just for once, we’d be spared the usual scapegoat posts. But no, not on Steelmen Online, of course not. So far I’ve read the following... Nick Blackman – Within 90 minutes he’s went from being a great find to being awful because he missed a couple of chances. If anyone here thinks that missing a couple of chances makes you a dreadful player, there really is no hope for you. He’s a young striker who is still developing and improving (as is evident by the fact he’s been farmed out on loan) and that killer instinct will hopefully come with time. Jutkiewicz looked awful when he turned up, and then look at what happened. Keith Lasley – He’s now dreadful anaw apparently, despite being a very capable and consistent player for us for years and years. Tam Hateley – I’m happy to admit he wasn’t near his best last night, and in the second half made too many misplaced passes. But a poor game does not make a poor player. Last season we were all creaming ourselves over telling Accies fans how great a player they’d missed out on when they rejected him after a trial, and this time last week he was an absolute God. Now he’s awful apparently. Chris Humphrey – Some of the abuse he’s received on this forum is pathetic. He’s a decent player and winger, and more than enough for the SPL. If a Premiership manager’s looking for a world class winger, he’s looking for someone with pace, the ability to go past players, and quality delivery. Chris Humphrey is ridiculously fast and can ghost past most players at will – does anyone really believe for a second that he’d be playing his football at Fir Park if he had great delivery!? Crossing the ball can be worked on, but FFS be happy that we have a winger who can fly past defenders and cause SPL defences problems rather than always having to focus on the negative. Craig Brown – I’ve read somewhere that his tactics were wrong. That potentially takes the biscuit for the nonsense I read last night. We were the better team and created enough chances to win about three games. That shows, beyond any doubt, that Craig Brown got his tactics right. He can’t influence whether or not our forwards finish their chances. And with regards to the cries of "he should have made a substitution" – who exactly? Unless we had a proven goalscorer on the bench, you’d be looking at changing like for like and disrupting the flow we had built up. Why should we throw Forbes into the midfield and wait for him to get up to pace with the game, when the players already on the park are creating enough chances to put us into extra time? It’s quite evident from some of the shouts you hear at Fir Park and from some of the regular posts on this forum that there’s quite a vocal quantity of our support who don’t know very little about football – and I’m happy to bet that many of them have never played or coached the game at any level. It’s actually cringe-worthy some of the things you hear at games and half the time I’m unsure whether posts on here are real or at the wind-up due to how unbelievable they are. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m just posting to have a go at our support for the sake of it as I’m not – we’re no different from football fans of any other club in the world. But Fir Park, the East Stand especially because of how close it is to the park, has the undeniable potential to be a cauldron of atmosphere – intimidating for the opposition, and inspiring for the home side – and yet, time and time again there seems more negativity than positivity for no apparent reason, other than too many folk like a moan and need someone to blame all the time – and I just find that very frustrating. Anyway, quite a long post and well done if you reached this point. I was fucking bored at work earlier so just started writing this instead of doing anything, but the forums are banned so I e-mailed it to myself and cut and pasted!! In summary, I’m proud of every one of the players and I really can’t wait to get to Fir Park on Sunday to do a Celtic team that appears to be there for the taking, unfortunately along with potentially less than 50% of the folk who turned up last night. MON RA ‘WELL.

Jamie Murphy. Turning out to be a great wee player these days and he'll tear some SPL defences apart this season. He'll be hurting over the penalty miss, but he was still Man of the Match.

Some of those who posted on here over five years ago may remember this wee spliced mp3 I made in the run up to the CIS Cup Final, using that speech and "My Sacrifice" by Creed that I'm sure someone had used in a MFC tribute movie or something and that seemed to get adopted as an "unofficial anthem" for short time on here... Anyway... My Sacrifice

Just in from work, about to get a scran, then head to Daniels. I guess this is it then! In about this Motherwell. See you all on the other side...

Fuckin' hyper eating my Cheerios! It's going to be a loooooooooooooooong day at work...

A month or so ago I was having a swatch at some of the shite on the Pineapple TA webspace and I came across an mp3 I made (well, spliced!) about 5 years ago or something (pretty sure it was in the run up to the CIS Cup Final)... Anyway, now seems as good a time as any to share it, as a couple of you may appreciate it! Oh, and a few of you will no doubt remember it!! In about it!

If folk genuinely can't sing because they're nervous, then they should be making emergency appointments with their GP tomorrow and getting prescribed beta blockers. Nae excuses for a shite atmosphere when it comes to tomorrow night!

I am fuckin' hyper. Hopefully anyone who doesn't normally join in with chants at games has read Craig Brown's comments and some of the posts on here regarding atmosphere, and will actually get the finger out and the vocal chords pounded tomorrow night. It's not all about the lads on the park, we've got a big part to play. And regardless of what happens on the park, if Fir Park's atmosphere's shite tomorrow night (as usual) - we'll have let the players and the management down. So aye, if you're one of these folk who sit in silence or enjoy moaning at our own players, get a fuckin' grip, wet the vocal chords before hand, ferociously back the players clad in C&A and make sure you cannae speak by Friday morning. If you don't, you're either a mute or a c**t. In about this mob.

Fir Park's got a shite atmosphere 99 times out of 100. I know that turning up and singing for 90 minutes isn't to everyone's tastes every week, but for the odd massive game like this I can't quite get my head round why the majority of Fir Park is content to sit there, only joining in with about three choruses of "'Well 'Well Super 'Well" the entire game. Big ticket games like this don't help matters either because people end up dispersed. Most folk will sit where they want, but you always get randoms demanding to sit in their seats. I'm not saying that's not on, of course it is - it's their seat if they want to sit in it. But if they end up then sitting in utter silence in an area that would normally be kicking off the chanting, then that effects the atmosphere as well. Then of course it also doesn't help when there seems to be numerous folk who appear to turn up at a Motherwell game purely to moan and shout and our own players. I'd like to be proved wrong on Thursday and witness a cauldron of atmosphere but it won't happen, because most folk don't seem like they can actually be arsed singing until the team gives them something to sing about, whereas IMO it should be the other way around. There's still the potential for a good atmosphere though, so as long as the club doesn't dish out those chronic inflatable things that appeared at the Nancy game, the atmosphere won't be completely ruined.

Aye, that was my thinking - if memory serves, that was the plan for the first leg so I wouldn't expect Broonie to change it for Thursday. Although I do like steelboy's shout of rotating Murphy, Sutton and Blackman as the game goes on. That could cause all sorts of problems for the Odense defence. Of course, it would require who ever was on Djemba-Djemba each time to put a defensive shift in when required.

Reckon we could be looking at something like this: ---------------------Randolph---------------------- Saunders-----Craigan-------Reynolds--------Hammell --------------Hateley-------Lasley------------------ Humphrey----------------------------------Blackman ---------------------Sutton------------------------- ---------------------Murphy------------------------- We'll also have a good crowd numbers wise, but a shite atmosphere as usual. But the main point is we're going to fucking do this mob.

I'd go with the same team from the first leg, only with Fitzpatrick in for Jennings. 1-0 victory, half an hour of utter torture as we sit back and soak up the pressure, and then Fir Park to erupt and Stephen Craigan to self-combust with the final whistle.