Andy_P

I can only see something of tight, nervy slog. And I can't help thinking about how anxious the last few minutes of the ninety and/or 120 minutes could be if the tie is still alive at that stage. They've obviously got equalisers at the death in the last two games at Pittodrie but they have done that (by that I mean have scored) quite regularly in Cup ties in recent seasons. I seem to remember late goals against St Mirren this season to take it to extra-time in the League Cup, they did the same to them last season at Paisley to earn a replay if I remember rightly and something at the back of my head tells me Dunfermline got hit at the death in a game too. It may be we may have to show quite a bit of character from us to overcome that if we are ahead or level heading into the injury time. I think I'd much rather we were 4-0 up and half the South Stand's three-quarters empty all things considered!!

A just about deserved win over the piece I felt. I thought we were the better side in the first half and it was to the team's credit that they didn't panic unduly when County went ahead against the run of play. Given our home record it would have been easy for them to think it was going to be yet another of those days, but they stayed calm, continued to play and got a fully merited equaliser. Law's goal was great. From winning possession in his own half, to leaving defenders trailing in his wake to the precise finish. It was just what you hoped for at the beginning of the second half. The disappointment was that we just didn't build on it. They took confidence from almost equalising straight away and we retreated into a shell giving the impression that we hoped we might see it out rather actually looking to make sure we won it. The goal was coming and I feared slightly that with County already on top we might even end up with nothing. But again, good character shown to dig out the win. I thought it was a tactical switch at the time bringing Higdon off, he had got little change out of the County defence in the second half and that the lack of a target man put the onus on us to play on the deck which clearly paid dividends. Perhaps McCall was a little too honest for his own good when he later conceded that Higdon had a knock and that's why he took him off. I'm sure plenty of managers would have kept that quiet and taken the credit. I wasn't entirely convinced by Hollis. A couple of deep breath moments - the failure to take control of the ball before their penalty claim one that sticks in mind - but what a fucking outstanding save right at the death. Randy himself would have been proud of that. It speaks volumes the number of players who went to congratulate him on it. He remains a very capable deputy. Good enough to be first choice week in, week out? That most likely will only become clear once he's had an extended run next season. But a great three points. Some good results elsewhere helped us too. And sets things up nicely for Tuesday!!

Your thoughts and votes please folks....

Apologies for being so belated but if there's still an appetite to pick a Man of the Match a day after the game, knock yourselves out folks....

Wee bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Still seriously miffed at the rescheduling of the Scottish Cup games (maybe others were too with just over 6000 at it) and having to miss one of my favourite weekends of the season. Was getting the odd text here and there from the old man and went from feeling ecstatic to absolutely gutted in the space of a few minutes. After the disappointment lifted I've settled on being happy enough with a result I would gladly have taken beforehand. Perhaps even more so having discovered Hutch was absent along with Randy. Why was that incidentally? Suspension? Injury? Selfishly I'm obviously chuffed I'll get to see us play in the Cup this year. I hope we might be beneficiaries of some Sky money though I fear Arbroath's last minute equaliser will have Sky all over that instead. Still finely balanced and still could go either way but let's hope it's 3rd time lucky in getting the job done against them this season.

I think it's a very evenly balanced tie, one that could go either way. You could make as many arguments pushing Motherwell's case for securing a place in the next round ad you could the home side. However no matter what some of them post in public for the most part for Dons fans Motherwell are and always will be fodder that Aberdeen should be taking care of and it's this sentiment we should seek to capitalise on. We know ourselves how a few thousand extra on the gate with their own expectation levels can impact on the vibes coming from the support. That will only be magnified at Pittodrie for whom many still believe it's the 1980's - and this season will have done little to dilute the notion that Aberdeen are on the cusp of greatness once again. Score early. Get the fuckpigs on the Aberdeen players backs and draw heavily upon that strength of character and sheer-bloodymindedness that got you through Tannadice in midweek. Mon the fuckin Dossers

Open for voting from 11pm onwards. Your thoughts and votes please thereafter....

Being discussed at length within the Hearts match thread. >> Clicky

I'd be delighted if we could return with a point.

I think there's clearly a balance to be struck in how things are perceived. As much as there are those who make a living from the game who for their own reasons will want to accentuate the positives similarly there are those who have made lengthy careers from being downright negative and for whom every setback brings an opportunity to twist the knife further (hello Hugh) As someone who pays your money your opinion on the "product" I'd should be more relevant and more valid than most, yet the fact is it'll be least considered viewpoints of them all. You're then into that well trodden debate of what you use as your basis for comparison as to where Scottish football stands. Should you consider the leagues from down south or southern Europe with the billions involved and a constant diet of football that's beamed into your living room, or should you look at the likes of the Scandanavian or some of the central-eastern European leagues for a more balanced comparison. But of course a few aside, the vast majority aren't going to be able to comment because you just don't see those leagues covered in the way you do the Spanish, English, French or Italian leagues are.

He can sign a pre-contract with anyone from six months before the expiry of his current contract. Presumably he'll be contracted up until the end of June with us so he would still be available to us, if the manager chose to play him, for the remainder of the season. Effectively though, as he did with Blackpool last season, Murphy or any other player in the same situation for that matter can tell the club to bite my shite if they try to sell them to any club they don't want to go to, regardless of how juicy a fee it might be for MFC.

I thought it was pretty grim viewing. The biggest positives for me were an all too rare clean sheet, a dominant defensive display from Hutchie and the fact we didn't up getting beaten. Beyond that you are looking at things at Higdon tracking back and winning tackles in the centre of the park then it illustrates how little there was to get excited about. There were seven or eight out there who were below par. Distribution from many was woeful. Even the obligatory Daley for Humphrey and McHugh for Ojamaa subs might have done something to freshen it up, particularly when Humphrey was clearly struggling and every run was followed by a minute of standing still recovering. Not a game that will live long in the memory, that's for sure.

If you put your mind to it you could probably come up with one, possibly two a season like that. I'm thinking 0-0 v Dundee Utd last season, albeit the wind played a big part in ruining that or McCall's first game in charge at Accies in recent times. Going quite a way back I actually remember being so sure that a live game with Hibs on a Friday night years ago was going to be a shitter that off the back of betting on a nil-nil, draw HT/FT and no goalscorer winning enough to cover a day out to Carlisle the following day for their derby with Preston. And guess what the score at that game was!!!

Your thoughts and votes please....

Would be happy to keep your thread pinned if you wish. But it has been said in the past that a thread can be viewed more often if there are new posts made in it that bumps it, rather than having it pinned. Your call. Either way, a popular fellow is Hammy so I'm sure details of your events will be welcomed.

You would have been as well saying nothing as coming away with that argument. What was it three he got last season against Dundee Utd? The goal that all but sealed 3rd place against Hearts? Scored against the Champions too so that was goals against 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th if you are viewing top six sides as your barometer of success. How far do you want to go back? Again he scored against 4 of the top six when he netted against Rangers, Hearts, Motherwell and Dundee Utd in his last season with St Mirren. You might even argue that's even more impressive given Saints finished second bottom.

A hard one for all the right reasons!! Your thoughts and votes please....

If its your "favourites" team then they'll bound to be managed by Mark McGhee then Melvin. Right?

The Lotto is a doddle Frazzle. Don't know if you can download the forms from the 'fishel or whether a call or visit to MFC is required but once set up, you are debited £4.33 a month per entry and you just forget about it really. Any winnings you get are posted out to you on a cheque. A relatively inexpensive way of supporting the club that gives the odd financial return.

A St Johnstone like, everybody thinks we'll lose but we've got a decent record there, style victory.

Lies and you know it Stall!!!! Mon the Bambi!!

It's hard to tell whether that's in jest or serious but either way it comes across really poorly. It seems to me you thought a bit of bluster on here allied to a poster on a wall in a boozer was somehow automatically going to get you a busload to go to Aberdeen. I'd say you need to put a bit more thought and effort into it than that. Did you post it on Fir Park Corner too? Did you tweet about it and ask folk (including MFC) to re-tweet? Did you post on Facebook? Did you enquire about getting something in the programme? What about the scoreboard. Did you ask at the office for a mention? Did you put something in the Hamilton Advertiser/EK News or whatever other local papers sell in Larkhall? Evening Times plugs supporters buses - advertise there? What about surrounding communities did you spread the word in Lesmagow, Strathaven, Ashgill or Ferniegair and the likes? Did you look through some of the old posts in the Travel thread? Did you ever consider contacting Kmcalpin (East of Scotland) Special AKA (Highland) or ShottsWellfan (Aberdeen) for advice on their involvement on building a supporters group from infancy Did you consider car pooling rather than going for a bus whilst your group is in its infancy? Did you contact the Supporters Association for advice, support and potential bus sharing if the numbers were too few? That's 10 things you could have done off the top of my head to promote and develop your bus rather than just pinning up a poster and getting sarky at folk when they haven't come running. Any idea that seeks galvanise the Motherwell support such as this deserves encouragement. How you've gone about it though leaves a lot to be desired.

The scorelines themselves aren't really a concern for me, unpleasant as most of them may have been this season. Exclude the results then its more difficult to answer where we are. The aim as I see it is to ultimately deliver players who will go on to make some form of meaningful contribution to the first team. If you consider that in most youth sides it's generally the exception if more than 2 or 3 players from one "year" end up getting senior contracts it begs the question are we really doing so badly currently? You've Francis-Angol and Cummins fairly regular turnouts, Carswell a bit less so. Hetherington has also had some game time and the suggestions were that Erwin might well have also had he not been injured. So in that respect for the guys at that level I would say the 20's are delivering pretty much what's expected of them. Its the younger guys where there is more of a question mark. Gordon Young in interviews has regularly stated that we involve players in age groups beyond their current years to test them and help bring them on. Could it be the case that whilst tough going currently this exposure to what will have been some grizzly senior players in addition to guys a year or two their elder might stand them in good stead for the future? Reports also suggested our preparations were perhaps not ideal this year with a coach appointed belatedly and questions raised over pre-season or the lack-of. Given those factors, maybe it will be next season before more of a mark is made by JJ and, with a season behind them at this level, we begin to get more of an idea of the true capabilites of some of the younger boys involved in the 20's.

Veering back towards the game itself slightly, I don't really think we've had our just rewards over the past couple of home games. Bad luck? An inability to get the job done? Or a measure of both? It was almost laughable that after spending the whole game in Dundee's half, they saunter up the park and pop one in with their first effort of note. We lost our way for a bit after that and our equaliser actually came as a wee bit of a surprise to me. Nicely timed too to spare what would likely have been a crescendo of boos. We never came close to the standards of last Saturday or the first half but going in level was the least we deserved. I had hoped with that boost before the break we might have gone on to get the three points, but it was all huffing and puffing and nothing was troubling them greatly. So soon after Wednesday thoughts of another sucker punch were at the back of my mind, I suppose at least we avoided the ignominy of that. All in keeping with the rather meh season so far. The further into the campaign we go the more and more echoes there are of McGhee's second season - a much anticipated european campaign that was over before it really began, disappointing League Cup exit, league campaign that has no consistency whatsoever against a backdrop of defensive woes, financial constraints and a manager coming to the end of his contract with a hefty chunk of the squad in the same boat. Whilst things could go right down that road, there does remain the potential for it to be better than how that scenario came to pass. Still only November and hardly out of reach of last seasons third place finish. Tighten up at the back and become that little bit more clinical and things might look a little brighter....he said hopefully!

I know Craig Brown makes it ridiculously easy for 'Well fans to blame him but..... .....Andy Carroll was certainly linked with a loan move to Motherwell certainly, but it was well before Craig Brown came to town, it might even have been Maurice Malpas who was keen on bringing him up to Fir Park! Gunning was signed after Brown left, by Stuart McCall.