Andy_P

Aww come on, there's plenty more mileage in the Faddy for Motherwell discussion yet...particularly since it evidently pisses MJC off as much as his daily fuckin' doomsday posts piss off most of the rank and file.

It's in the BBC Gossip section who have taken it from the Sunday Times. Couldn't see the actual article itself as the Sunday Times appears to be pay-to-view. EDIT: Notice as Well-Made correctly states its The People and not the Sunday Times.

A minor miracle that somehow managed to escape with just a two goal defeat. On another day our positive goal difference from pre-match could easily have been wiped out. I thought we started pretty well but even before they got close to full stride Celtic were already forcing great saves from Randolph. For a wee short while there was the potential for it to be "one of those days" for Celtic as they passed up more and more chances so it was frustrating that we were very much culpable for the two they did score. Randolph's save from the penalty was in keeping with as good a performance as he'll probably have at Fir Park - the polar opposite to that of Adam Cummins who will probably struggle to have as a bad an afternoon. I think he Adam the makings of a half decent player at least but he's light years away from the finished article however and I hope when the disappointment of today eases he can use this bitter experience as a learning curve for the future. A growing concern is yet another red card. Our disciplinary record has nose-dived dramatically in the last 18 months or so. It was interesting to hear Leeann Dempster talk before the game that she hoped we were able to keep a fully fit squad to help us replicate last season's success. Surely suspensions to have go hand in hand with that whilst we've had our fair share of controversial ones, we are shooting ourselves in the foot in that regard by the frequency our players are put in positions where they are left in situations like Cummins today. Positives? Randolph, Francis-Angol, it was a Saturday 3pm and we'll probably have made from it than we would do with a stupid o'clock kick-off and lastly we don't have to play the fucking Old Firm until December at least!

What season did you cut and paste that from and change the names?

Your thoughts and votes please....

I didn't mention the first thing about MFC releasing a statement or otherwise so unclear why you choose to query that. In fact I even removed the line where you talked about a statement in your previous post. You posed a question querying along the lines of why people were seeing Wednesday's game as more than a bog standard League Cup game. I responded to that question, suggested to you that you already knew why it was something more than just a League Cup game. My response had nothing whatsoever to do with any mooted statement.

It quite evidently meant a huge amount to a lot of people on various levels as can be borne out by the volume of posts to that effect both before and after the game. If you genuinely haven't been able to pick up on that sentiment I'd be really surprised. Otherwise I can only assume you are being a little obtuse. Turn that one around for a second. What in your view places Wednesday alongside a tie against Brechin, Clyde or Morton as you appear to be implying with the "league cup match, nothing more, nothing less" remark?

I'm a little unsure of what sort of team will be set out to play Celtic tomorrow. As I mentioned on the Rangers thread in the immediate aftermath of the game on Wednesday I think it may be a good thing that we have a high profile match so soon after Ibrox. I'm not niave enough to expect the players will have felt the defeat as keenly as many 'Well fans have but I'm sure there will be a professional pride about them to try to put things right as much as they can. So whoever gets the nod I expect a much more lively and tuned in display than on Wednesday. The natural reaction when licking ones wounds is to go back to look to protect what we have, re-group and then look to re-build but as has been said already Celtic have plenty experience of wearing us down and getting what they need so I think I would far rather see us try to take things to them rather than try to play it cagey and then be lose one late on when there's little time to do anything about it. Pretty much everyone expects us to lose anyway. Just get fucked in about them from the start and see where we go.

Re: Gaag's link... Deleted the game without watching it back, don't buy papers and haven't been that inclined to listen/watch/read the post-mortem on official sources so that's the first quotes I've read that are attributed to McCall after the game. Certainly not unreasonable - and the Rangers fan in work confirmed it was by some distance their best display of the season - but clearly something has gone far awry between being beware of what was coming, the preparation for such and the actual carrying out the instructions on the night. McCall has his critics but in general given his record at Motherwell he clearly has more half an idea of what he's doing in terms of tactics, team selection etc. The players by achieving the relative successes they have illustrate they have something about them. Which put together lends further credence to the claims that their is a mental issue to be tackled here. Time for a sports psychologist of the likes of Tom Lucas to be sought out?

Fair point. We'd likely have been in Division Three by now if he was still here and since most Division Three teams are giving them a game..... I jest ofcourse.

It's been summed up already but a parting of the ways seems inevitable come the summer. If there was ever going to be a time for Johnny to stake a claim it would have been at the beginning of this season with Craggs and Clancy away but barring when injury and suspension has created an opening, he hasn't had a sniff. I heard it said he was denied the opportunity of a similar loan move to another First Division team last season, which may partly explain his enthusiasm for being allowed to go to Accies, but then he really should be desperate to get out and play football. At 22, he's not a laddie any more and for his own career's sake, if as appears the case, he isn't going to breakthrough at Motherwell, he should be looking to establish himself at another club.

I'm sure steelboy is entirely serious with the remark, he said along similar lines on a couple of occasions now although without justification in my mind. Steve Jones: Came on loan when we had just "lost" both Alan Gow and Nick Blackman. Hardly earth shattering in his time here but offered cover both on the left midfield and up front. Soon moved on at the end of his deal. Nicky Law: Perhaps a fortuitous signing given the supposed bumping into one another on holiday but a feather in McCall's cap to have got him to Fir Park however the means. One of the most creative members of the team, can play left midfield and in the middle. Chipped in with several goals. It seems to rile steelboy that he's one of the first picks but I would say by and large his performances merit such inclusion. A clear success. Omar Daley: Another capable of offering versatility again signed at a time when the squad was considered light in number. Has shown ability on occasion but the desire to produce that on a semi-consistant basis has regularly been found to be wanting. A poor decision in retrospect to sign him on the length of contract he got but will surely go at the end of this season. Simon Ramsden: Once again a player capable of turning out in two or three roles. Signed when the club had lost two central defenders, had a third go on a long term injury against a backdrop of financial uncertainty. A player McCall had made captain at Bradford and was highly regarded in England's lower league before suffering injury problems at Bradford. After signing everyone will have their own views on the success or otherwise of the players but as regards their actual signing I think there is a decent case to justify each of them particularly when the context of their versatility and our budget is taken into account.

Thoroughly depressing stuff. I'm trying to convince myself that it's not so bad, only for something to pop back into my head to reassure me that it was indeed utter shite. I felt when the draw was made there was always a fair possibility we might lose. I reckoned the task we faced was probably something akin to going to play a St Mirren, KIllie or Inverness away in the Cup. But looking at their team tonight I'm not so sure that's even a fair comparison. No Kyle. No Black. No Templeton. Sandaza off early in the game. Just how weak a line up do they actually have to have before we actually believe that we can beat them? Though the first half was probably eaksy peaksy in the end, I thought it was significant how the tone was set from the first minute. If ever there was a game you had to come blasting out the traps this was it. Some will remember that 9-in-a-row busting day at Ibrox where we scored early and had the ball for something like all but 30 seconds of the first 5 or 6 minutes and shutting up their crowd. Tonight we were scrambling about our own box chasing down misplaced passes and allowing them to get their fans up behind them right from the word go. The first fifteen of the second half were utterly dreadful. We recovered to at least have some measure of possession but at 2-0 Rangers were happy to afford us to that given how little cutting edge we had demonstrated throughout the game. I'm not privvy to what was said in the dressing room or in the build up to the game but I do know that was soul destroying stuff to watch. In a sense I'm fearful that our deficiencies have exposed for all to see ahead of Celtic on Saturday, but,at the same time though it does seem a bit laughable given the tepid performance tonight, that such a game might ensure they raise their game and not wallow in any self-pity after tonight. Positives? The smokebomb was impressive and sparked some defiant support even when all was lost on the park. Would have been quite good to have seen that go off if we had gone ahead. And grudging credit to their supporters with the reposte to the European banner they faced at Fir Park last season. I'm sure the boys at the top of the East Stand will take it as a compliment that their efforts are being noticed and reacted to. And now to steel oneself for the onset of flak that will inevitably come our way over the next couple of days...

Deflect! Deflect!! Deflect!!!

Your thoughts and votes please....

Oh my aching sides.

How much incidently are the Larkhall Tourist Board paying you to mention the place in every post you make, tommycoyne?

Aye, the attention was grabbed a little when I saw the "statement from the board" on the official but having read it feel it's an odd statement there was no need for us to make. Any comment coming from Motherwell I feel should have been solely on the game itself and solely from the manager and his players. Intervention from the board on this one is unnecessary I feel. Last week I welcomed Green's remarks about Motherwell being welcome. The onus I felt was on Rangers to dampen down any potential hysterics amongst their supporters stemming from some "playing to the gallery" from their chief-executive. I get a sense that wrongly we have somehow felt obliged to respond. Whether the root of these statements by both clubs is a joint attempt to try to dampen down any outpourings off the park, possibly driven by lower than expected ticket sales I don't know. And I actually don't have a problem at all with establishing a good working relationship with Rangers as we have done with lots of other clubs, but I'd be happy enough that was done in the background and that the club didn't feel the need to remark upon it in a public statement.

Having been very apprehensive about the circus we might be walking into when the draw was originally made I'm really excited about it now. Talk of stewards, over-zealous police, an intimidating home support or poor results isn't going to deter me from going to support Motherwell at Ibrox , Parkhead or wherever. But the fact that we go there on Wednesday with on the face of it, a heightened chance of getting a result, only serves to whet the appetite even further to make sure I'm there. I don't believe we will beat simply because they happen to find themselves in Division three but by virtue of the TV companies covering their games I have seen enough to know that if we can turn in an attacking performance of the manner we are capable of, we have enough about us to beat them. As has been mentioned already mentality will play a huge factor. I think it has been significant that on day one Rangers didn't blow Brechin City away as everyone expected. Even after going ahead after just 4 minutes that day. People saw that Brechin took them to extra-time. Then they saw Peterhead draw with them. Then they saw East Stirling take the lead at Ibrox. And every team that has come up against them since has approached them with no fear, in the knowledge that they can get about them. They are in a no lose scenario where they too can create a wee bit history but if they get pumped, so what. We don't have that luxury of being able to shrug off a defeat but we should very much be looking to replicate the "I don't give a fuck who used to be" mentality that everyone who has played them has adopted. It would be soul destroying if were to believe we were going in there to play Rangers old and allowed all the old baggage to weigh us down. I firmly believe that if we get the mental side of things right we'll come good on Wednesday.

A real sore one not to have taken all three points in the end. A sluggish start but after the first 5-10 minutes we were comfortably the better side and the progression from levelling, to getting the second and then the third was no less than we deserved. I noted that Craig Brown said afterwards we were the better team and the best they have faced this season, but then I tend to view much that he says with some cynicism curious as to what agenda he has this time with his carefully selected comments. The crucial goal, and the timing of it, was Aberdeen's second. It just changed the whole complexion of it all. Stating the obvious but another two or three minutes at 3-1 and the game would have died on its arse. But them getting a goal from nothing when they did gave them enough time to re-group and give it a decent go at finding an equaliser. Interesting reading back the talk about the substitutions. There are plenty of times at a game where you instinctively feel that there should be a change, or you sense growing murmurs in the support. I actually never felt like that today, even at 3-2. Certainly in retrospect at the very least for the purpose of breaking up the flow of the game or wasting a few seconds it seems like such an obvious move that could have been made. Still quite a few positives to take, primarily that we appear to be getting into the goalscoring groove again. Four, two and three in our last three games and if we can continue to get returns like that, particularly on the road, that will give us some breathing space to work on tightening up the defence and go some way to ensuring we maintain a challenging position throughout the season.

Thoughts and votes please folks...

There is a some anecdotal evidence to suggest that it is having some effect though. There have been people on here for example who have said they know of Old Firm supporting relatives, friends or acquaintances who have started going to Motherwell games off the back of their offspring becoming involved with the club. From my own experience a few years ago I managed to convert the kid of one of my missus friends from Celtic to Motherwell. He's gone into refereeing now but there's no question where his loyalties now lie. Ofcourse that's not going to apply to everybody but it illustrates that there are supporters there to be won and we must continue to fight the good fight. I suppose you could liken it a bit to developing better players where schemes put in place need time to come to fruition and our season ticket deals and community link ups will be something similar in that they will need an extended period of operation to truly see how successful or otherwise they have been. The early evidence of increased season ticket sales and attendances suggest we have made some small strides in the right direction.

Willie Falconer and Sillyname Sheridan are another couple not mentioned as yet. Falconer was good when he wanted to be, almost single-handedly kept McLeish in a job when he first signed. Sheridan remains still more renoknowned for that jumper more than anything else but.

Two game ban for Kevin Kyle for his sending off against QOS. Presumably that will then make him suspended for the Cup game on Wednesday. Say what you like about his ability (or lack of) , but the least options they have the better as far as I'm concerned.

Glancing over the BBC website and their reporter Liam McLeod has tweeted: