MJC_MKI

Completely and utterly unacceptable. Hang your heads in shame Motherwell you inept, gutless shitebags.

The damage was done last week. 1-1 tonight and out on away goals.

In the grand scheme of things, yes, we wouldn't be expected to do anything of note in Europe. However I think what rankles most people is that our recent attempts have been utterly dire. Failure to score in seven out of our last eight matches in Europe with fourteen conceded and we failed to even look as though we believed we could make a game of it in the majority of those games. The games against Levante and Kuban at home were pathetically gutless displays from us. Then last week we surrender a 2-0 lead against a semi professional Icelandic side and are now staring an embarrassing elimination in the face. So our record might not be poor on paper but our attempts in recent times certainly have been.

Having just completed that survey the type of question I found myself answering the most frequent was the one about the act being in place to target offensive behaviour but being executed in a disproportionate manner and that is the best way I can describe the act and it's effect on the average football fan. As I see it there are three parties to blame for this nonsensical legislation being in place. Neil Lennon, Celtic Football Club and the deranged bigots within the Rangers support who rose to Lennon and Celtic's bait during the 2010/11 season. That season saw Lennon and Celtic, from support to boardroom openly and actively fan the flames of the issue this country has by goading everyone from the SFA to the media, to every other club and to referees in a blatant attempt to create a siege mentality and naturally some halfwits rose to this and we had we end up with some absolute morons sending mail bombs etc. No defending or excusing that of course but I said at the time and I still maintain that Celtic and their support lapped all that up as it was the perfect opportunity to push their 'everyone's out to get us, we're offended by X, Y and Z' agenda. All whilst in the middle of all this having a prominent supporters group denouncing the rememberance poppy but that seems to get glossed over. Result of all of the above is we now have 'The Offensive Behaviour Act' and we've got young boys simply out to create a bit of atmosphere at the football being huckled by police, banned from attending their own club's matches and the fun completely sucked out of football. So, like I said, the 'Act' is meted out in a completely unfair and disproportionate way.

An absolutely shocking result and no other way of dressing that up. To be two goals up at home against some fourth rate Icelandic side and fail to win is completely unprofessional. Yet again our Achilles heal(s) is a dodgy defence and a 2-0 lead. How many of those have we surrendered in the last year??? Quite simply our 'European tour' is over for another year at the first hurdle as a result of us surrendering two cheap goals at home. No doubt the Happy Clappies will be on to tell us we have no right to hope that we can beat such a side and anyway it was a great spectacle for the neutral fan tonight but I take nothing from that because we bottled it. Again.

3-1 to us and they'll score first.

It might not be disgraceful to lose to another SPL side in a cup match per se but the manner in which we lost the two Scottish Cup games against Aberdeen was disgraceful in my view. At the time of both games we had a better team than they did and were easily outperforming them in the league where they couldn't buy a win against us. Yet in both those games we were second best in attitude, will to win and they seemed to want it more and therefore we deserved to lose. Our performances in those matches WAS disgraceful in my opinion. Aberdeen had a better side in last season's League Cup match but they were down to ten men for 77 minutes and we didn't trouble them and ended up getting turned over 2-0. Again, given what was at stake and the man advantage we had it was a shocking performance and result. The debacles against Sevco and Albion Rovers speak for themselves. In all of those games our approach, attitude, preparation, desire and tactics were all wrong and we deserved to lose every single one of them, and all in Cup games which the club are never done telling us that we need to do well in to fund the running costs and budget etc and in which the support is largely desperate to see us progress from. So yes, McCall and the players DO owe the support and themselves a good Cup run this season in my opinion and given the manner of our recent string of cup exits then I do not think that that is an unreasonable thing to ask.

Still being in the Scottish Cup come the start of 2015 would be my initial hope and aspiration for next season. That in itself would be progress on the past two seasons. Needless to say that while we've done well in the league and the run of the mill games under McCall, our cup record in the same time has been absolutely disgraceful with some really shocking performances and exits and whatever we've done in the league that dire record casts a major shadow over the past few seasons. As a club we really need a good cup run this season, if nothing else for financial reasons as our pathetic efforts have hampered us in recent years in that department. Also as the domestic cups are our only chance of success then I am desperate to see us giving it a serious crack and would love nothing more than to see us lift silverware again as it would trump any high league finish in my opinion. I couldn't care less about Europe as those games are nothing more than glorified friendlies to us, the domestic cups are what brings clubs like us success and glory and hopefully 2014/2015 will be the season when we finally capture silverware. I'd even trade a top six finish for it. McCall and the players owe us at the very least a good run in one of the cups this coming season and McCall has acknowledged that our recent efforts have fallen way short, so now its time for him and the team to step up and deliver.

Yes serious, I'll lick that PR department into shape no bother. And I've got a driving licence.

Sounds interesting, think I might apply.

A day that will never be forgotten. Only winning a Cup would top that for me. The term 'couldn't have happened to a better mob' could have been invented for that day alone.

I would agree with this too and I think it has to be viewed as a major positive for the future. The team of 2012/13 was awash with top notch players but while they were capable of blowing teams away once in their stride, were they capable of rolling up their sleeves, digging in and as you say winning ugly when required? In my opinion Ibrox September 2012, the cup defeat v Aberdeen, Inverness away (3-4) last season suggests not. Even this season we blew it big time in the League Cup against Aberdeen and again in the Scottish Cup against Albion Rovers, but we somehow managed to stay in contention for a European finish by 'winning ugly' and amazingly went to the home of the much adored Aberdeen on the last day, frustrated the shite out if them and nicked a win which secured us second at their expense. That to me suggests that McCall and the players are learning how to grind results out by battling and winning ugly, and that fills me with optimism. Who knows? This time next year we could be League Cup holders or about to clinch the Scottish Cup...

Couple more spring to mind; McHugh's 89th winner at Easter Road in Decemeber 2012 to complete a 3-2 win having been 0-2 down. And Stephen Nicholas - remember him - in what was about his only good game for us against St.Johnstone at Perth in 01/02. We were 0-1 and 1-2 down, Nicholas got a double with his second being a stoppage time winner prompting him to remove his top in celebration and looking like a skinny wee 13 year old in the process.

Not quite last minute but late on...Willie Falconer against Rangers in 1998 to seal a 2-1 win at Fir Park.

Just goes to show you should never listen to anything I say I suppose.

That today was sensational. I've very often criticised McCall and his teams for their failure to deliver in 'big' games where we're up against a side desperate to win but today he came up trumps. That was a superb team performance. Gutsy, full of character and McCall even subbed off a centre half for Faddy in an attempt to go for it - and it only fucking worked! We have now finished 'best of the rest' for the third, the fucking THIRD season running! That is sensational especially considering the quality we lost last summer and the frustrating lows of this season. We hung in there to the very end against the media darling Aberdeen's all conquering machine and we stole 'their' second place from under their very noses with the last kick of the season. Delightful stuff. I don't normally believe in Karma, but I see that as payback for the corner that never was, the handball in January, the disallowed goal in October - all breaks they have got against us to help them on their way to wins. Not to mention the two last minute equalisers at that shitehole last season. That was payback and then some. Congratulations Motherwell FC for another incredible campaign where we defied the odds and the expectations of so many of its own support, and congratulations Stuart McCall. Whatever anyone thinks of him, and I'm probably one of his biggest critics, no one can argue that his league record with us is superb. Well done Super Well!!!

On first impressions I am very impressed with the home kit but not so the away one as the claret & amber blocks ruin it. The home kit is very nice though. Amber top with claret shorts, the way a Motherwell home strip should be. The only question is of course, is that a band or a hoop?

Yes that's true. But let's be honest, we'd love to finish second. Apart from the fact that it's a higher placed finish and thus more prize money, show me the Motherwell fan who isn't absolutely desperate to pip those media darling, tight arsed, Doric speaking, arrogant, deluded parochial scabby bastards to what they believe they are entitled to on their own midden on the very last day of the season? After all the cup defeats, the last minute equalisers, not to mention Brown and McGhee etc. wouldn't it be just fucking delightful to stick it to that shower on Sunday? But sadly like I say they have this knack of sickening us and whilst I can certainly see us scoring up there, we sure as hell can't keep a clean sheet so that's why I reckon we're looking at a high scoring draw, most likely with them equalising late on in typical Motherwell v Aberdeen fashion.

I think Sunday has all the makings of a sickener for us to be honest. We all know we can't keep a clean sheet and Aberdeen always manage to sicken us one way or another, be it with late goals, cup defeats, dodgy refereeing calls etc. I don't see Sunday being any different and I'm going to go for 3-3 with them equalising with the last kick of the ball after we were 2-0 then 3-2 up.

Not too much to add except that we won and that's the most important thing. It's safe to say that our second half performance was yet again utterly chronic though and I honestly cannot understand why we try to sit on a lead when we have squandered so many throughout the season. We also looked like we were blowing out our arses after 60 minutes, again that raises questions over our fitness and training. However, as I say, it's the business end of the season and we needed a win and got it.

Be honest, that's a bit of an exageration isn't it?

Yes indeed, congratulations to Stuart McCall and the players for another excellent league finish. We've had our ups and downs this season, indeed we've had some extremely frustrating moments but regardless of that the league table doesn't lie and for us to finish in the top three for the THIRD season running is a tremendous feat and one that I never thought would be possible.

1-1

Whatever happens Aberdeen will finish 2nd and we will finish 3rd.

Quite a few I'd imagine, although the standard of quality has dropped dramatically right across the board since then, its not just limited to us. I mean Mitchell van der gaag was at that time our record signing, for something like £500 - 750k? We wouldn't even spend a fraction of that now on a player, indeed no one in the top flight out with Celtic would even dream of that nowadays. The game and the landscape has changed so much. It is however fair to say that a fair few of that team would walk into today's an improve it. I'd certainly take Scott Howie in goal, Brian Martin and Van der gaag at the back and a front two of Coyne and Coyle...easily the best front partnership I've ever seen at the club. If those two were our strike force today they would destroy the SPFL.