MJC_MKI

Nah it's only us that miss late, soft penalties in 88 minutes in games against Rangers with the score at 0-0, ie Jim O'Brien in 2009. You can bet your house that if they were presented with the same situation they would take full advantage of it. But anyway I'd certainly take a 0-0 draw, anything to stop the recent run of absolute drubbings we've had against them. Just for once I want to see a Motherwell side go out against Rangers and actually look as though they're going to give them a game of it instead of meekly rolling over and letting them tickle their bellies.

All this negativity is making me feel slightly more confident about Saturday. Maybe we'll get a result against Rangers for once.

There'll be no 'settling' for 3rd, that is our main aim and if we manage to clinch it then that will be a fantastic achievement for us. For me any slim chance we had of finishing 2nd has now gone as every result that could have went against us this weekend did go against us. With Rangers beating Celtic and their inevitable stroll in the park against us next weekend, we are not catching them so 3rd is our focus and we've got a battle on our hands to secure it because our rivals are all gaining form and momentum. Our post split meetings with United, St.Johnstone and Hearts will be absolutely crucial if we are to get 3rd place. It's going to be very, very tough, but hopefully we can pick ourselves up and rise to the challenge.

Actually slightly surprised by the amount of negativity and defeatist talk on here. Where's all the usual "aw it's the worst Rangers side since bla bla bla, they're playing shite, we're playing well bla bla bla, they're there for the taking bla bla bla, we'll never have a better chance to bla bla bla"???? It appears even some of the more optimistic Motherwell fans have accepted the sad reality of games against this lot. Motherwell do not beat Rangers and that will not change next weekend and it doesn't matter a jot that they've lost either their last four games or three out of four going into this with the possibility of them officially handing the league to Celtic if they were to beat us, Rangers will get their usual comfortable win over us on Saturday, by at least two goals.

Exactly, and for that point alone I'd value a Cup win over a few games in the Champions League any day of the week. Motherwell Football Club don't win trophies. We're never going to win the league and although the domestic Cups present us with our best chance of winning something, we've only reached three finals in God knows how many years with one cup win to show for it in that time. So for that reason, I'd consider a Cup win to be the greatest achievement that we could get.

Nope. Not that you'd hear it on our tannoys anyway.

Well realistically we're never going to win the SPL, so the Scottish Cup and/or League Cup are our best bet of silverware. For anyone outwith Celtic & Rangers, these two domestic cups present the opportunity to see your club lift a major trophy and all the enjoyment that goes with it. That's why 1991 was so special to us, why Dundee Utd milked every moment of their Cup win in 2010, and why Kilmarnock will be in party mode tomorrow, as they see their club parading a big, shiny trophy. And we'd be exactly the same in their position.

Seeing Motherwell playing in the Champions League would be great, but I'd swap it for a Cup win any day of the week. Winning a major trophy trumps merely playing a few qualifying rounds before getting well beaten by in all likliehood some little known side. Our last Cup win was in 1991, twenty one years ago yet Motherwell fans still fondly remember and talk about that amazing day and the Cup run that got us there. That team is written into Motherwell folklore and will remain there until the end of time, nothing will change that. That day, 18th May 1991 is a day engraved in the memories of any Motherwell fan who was fortunate enough to be born at that time and for those who weren't they'll have been told all about it by their fathers, brothers, older peers etc. Do you really think that in 21 years time we'll still hold the Motherwell team who got gubbed 6-1 on aggregate by Racing Club Mumphus or whoever in the Champions League 2nd qualifying stage in quite the same regard? No, winning a Cup for a club like ours would be the greatest thing that we could achieve. I'm glad that that's happened in my lifetime and if there is one thing I would love more than anything else in football would be for it to happen again.

For some reason I'm strangely confident about this one. Killie will be in party mood as they parade the League Cup but they might be due to get brought back down a peg or two, so fancy us to spoil their party with a 3-1 win.

An absolutely fantastic and crucial three points in what was difficult circumstances for us. With Rangers losing to Dundee Utd earlier in the day we were presented with a fantastic opportunity to move to joint second and maintain our lead over United in third and we duly took it. Say what you like about Aberdeen but they are a very difficult side to beat as their 13 match unbeaten run shows and yet our 'makeshift' side has managed to halt that run. Brilliant from the youngsters who stepped up to the plate and put in good shifts, that really does give encouragement. We are now in an absolutely fantastic position in the SPL and let's hope we can maintain some level of consistency over the next few weeks.

Normally I'd agree with you, I'd be disappointed with anything less than a win at home. Not that I'd predict a win normally mind you. However there are some important factors to consider for tomorrow. We are missing several key players through injuries and suspensions; we're going to have to put out a makeshift defence consisting of God knows who; Keith Lasley will be missing from the middle of the park and we seem to struggle when him and Jennings are out of the side or are off form. Aberdeen on the other hand are going to be able to bring back some key players so they will be a stronger side tomorrow than they were last week when they deservedly beat us and outplayed us. Taking all of that into consideration, I would rip your arm off for a point right now. As I said though, I still think this game could go either way. Aberdeen aren't a brilliant side and they can be beaten and whilst we have key players missing, we still have players who can hurt them. Hopefully our 'defence' tomorrow does better than what we saw in the Cup game.

After deservedly losing to Aberdeen in the Cup on Sunday, and with us missing some key players through injuries and suspensions while Aberdeen are able to welcome a few key players back into their side then you'd be expecting another away win this Saturday. But no result would surprise me from this one, we might lose 3-0, yet we might win 2-1. It might finish 3-3, it might finish 0-0. I think it's going to be a hard one to call. I'm going to go for a 0-0 draw which in the circumstances would be a decent result for us.

Perhaps the one 'positive' you can take from today, that we don't have to suffer another Hampden mauling from Celtic.

Come on Motherwell, just do this please!!!

Maybe not, but we won't win it either. Mark my words on this one. Aberdeen are going to knock us out of the Cup in this round, that might be tomorrow, that might be in the replay but I am 99.9% certain that we will not be seeing the streets of Mount Florida again any time soon.

In terms of quality, I wouldn't say that they were a better team than us, in fact I would say that the sides are evenly matched. Aberdeen's strengths on which they have built their recent good run have been that they are a very difficult side to break down and beat, as Craig Brown teams tend to be. They have shored up their defence by bringing in the likes of Reynolds and Anderson and as a result they look more solid at the back. They will come to Fir Park and sit in and the onus will be on us to break them down and it's going to be very difficult to do that. If they are able to nick a goal and get in front then we're going to struggle to get back in it in my opinion because that will suit them to defend a lead and it will play into their hands. Scott Vernon will be a big threat up front for them aswell. I can see us struggling against their physicality and gameplan as it's going to be very difficult to get past them.

Of course I do. I'm a negative bugger, glass half empty whatever, but Motherwell are my club and I love supporting them. I don't expect much from us, but that's maybe more down to the type of person I am. That does not mean though that I want us to lose or enjoy it when we do lose. I don't pay money to watch Motherwell, buy merchandise and spend however much on petrol money going to support them because I want them to lose just so I can say 'told yeez' on an internet forum, something I've never actually said on here. I support Motherwell in hope, but never expectation and always fear that we're about to 'implode' for want of a better word there. I'll be there on Sunday as always and I'll be supporting the team as I always do but I do see us going out here. Like I said, that's maybe down to the type of person I am but it doesn't change the fact that I desperately WANT us to win on Sunday and every other time we step on to the field because at the end of the day, whatever my 'guess' beforehand on here may be, I am a Motherwell supporter and I love the club dearly.

In my opinion we are going no further in the Scottish Cup this season. Aberdeen are a much improved side from the one from the beginning of the season and it's no accident that they have went 12 matches unbeaten because Craig Brown has has clearly put his stamp on that team by making them hard to beat and solid defensively. We will struggle to break them down next Sunday and this tie will either finish level and they will knock us out in the replay or it will be an away win. We've got a good record against Aberdeen of late, but it would just be so typical if that was to end in the biggest encounter of them all and I think that will be either next Sunday or in the replay. Plus, I just don't see us playing at Hampden two seasons in a row. No, Aberdeen are going to knock us out of the Cup in this round and for me the only question is where they will do that, either at Fir Park or at Pittodrie in the replay. Either 1-1 or 2-1 to them I'm afraid, but as ever I hope to be proved wrong.

Anyone who thinks that 3rd place is now a foregone conclusion is dreaming, there' a lot of work still to be done before we can even start to think like that. That said though I reckon we'll win fairly comfortably on Saturday. 3-0 to us.

Our only hope of winning the Cup will be if Dundee Utd can beat Celtic in the Quarters as I don't see anyone else doing it. That said that's the very least of our worries just now, the Aberdeen quarter final is going to be one tough game for us.

So as things stand at the moment, Clancy and Hutchinson will both miss the Aberdeen cup tie due to suspension. Another concern would be how many yellows that Ojamaa has picked up so far. Could another booking next week put him out of this game aswell? Now that would be a hammer blow for us.

I didn't see the game today so can't comment on what Higdon may or may not have said to Hooper after his goal, however I did notice that before he went to take this 2nd penalty against Hibs in midweek he was conversing with and shaking hands with their goalie Graham Stack. Very 'sportsmanlike' and all that but it's an unusual thing to see a striker who's about to take a penalty exchange such warm handshakes with the goalkeeper he's about to face.

I'd imagine for the same reason some of our fans like to sing 'Flower of Scotland' against Rangers, because they think it winds the opposition supporters up.

Of course not, but the harsh reality is that we are no match whatsoever for Celtic. And I for one hate having to say that, but it's the truth.

The final result on Saturday will be whatever Celtic want it to be. The only certainty is that they will win and anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves beyond belief. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the SPL and the fact that they have won 18 (or whatever it is) games in a row fully supports that view. From our point of view, this game is a write off for us and we should be looking to the Dunfermline match a week later. As for this Saturday, at worse: Celtic will beat us 7-0, at best: they will beat us 2-0.