Andy_P

I seem to be in something of a minority. Where others clearly are lapping it up, I'm not seeing the need for all this at all. What a drama over nothing. Its not like we've got serious grievances have we? It seems a pretty trivial matter to be picking fights with the SFA over. Oh we didn't get a reply back about a letter we sent....well boo fucking hoo. Its hardly the end of the world is it? Did we not used to have a fairly close relationship with Hugh Dallas. I seem to remember at some time not so long ago him being invited to speak to the squad, or least give guidance to the manager of the day. I assume that avenue of communication has been closed then. I'm delighted where we are in the table and been encouraged by the way we've tried to play football. On the park its better than I could ever have hoped when Gannon took over. But off the field I'm growing weary already with what seems an often unnecessary antagonistic approach. Seems like its somebody different each week that has to suffer to his wrath. Senior pros, media, referees, SFA - who's next?

A fair dose of acne too by the looks.

Exactly the same as we paid for him - £400k

And the response was.........we responded! That's a definitive answer to his complaints then! While I think there's little doubt that Gannon does have very good points about the standard of refereeing and the media in this country there are times when I think that I'd prefer he stopped telling everyone else in Scottish football how to go about their business and just focus on managing Motherwell.

Was Howie's debut not the week before Tannadice when we drew 0-0 with Hibs on a freezing cold Friday night? Absolute shitter of a game and memorable to me only for the fact that I got a correct score, no goalscorer, draw ht & draw ft all up. Just I seem to remember Howie playing in it.

That's what I've kept coming back to over recent weeks too. Much as its been a really frustrating few weeks in terms of opportunities spurned and we've left grounds with a feeling almost akin to when we've lost when it boils down to it, if Gannon is to be believed, then we are still at the beginning of the journey. I would like to hope they doing as well as they are, players as individuals and as a team are learning and gaining experience week on week. Granted I do wonder how many times we might need to play against 10 men to be capable and composed enough to be able to handle the situation. You might have thought that 3 games in a row might have given them enough savvy to be able to deal with a in fourth game in succession but I would still like to think that they will benefit in the longer term from having to deal with the scenario. On the game itself good character shown to get back into the game after going a goal down with two fine goals to get us ahead. Just a shame that again we've let it slip. Could understand the decision to bring on Lasley to offer a bit more protection after recent weeks but the Murphy substitution was very debatable. Some players get a label as impact players coming off the bench but you certainly can't say that of Jim O'Brien this week and last and it remains a bit of a frustration that Gannon seems intent in trying to force him to play in the middle when he seems to have contributed most out wide. But we are where we are. Could be better, but still a decent position to be in.

Your choice and thoughts please.....

Somebody we haven't played for a while at somewhere we haven't been for a while. Tis what the Cup is all about!

Your choices and opinions please.....

I welcome the authorities trying attract new people to the game but their focus should not be solely on families and shouldn't be at the exclusion of others. I said in the programme the other week that I supported the SPL's family initiative - not only in the hope that we do get a boost in numbers - but that their secret families might stumble across some of the the frustrations that existing fans encounter on a regular basis - hassles buying ticket, stewarding, policing, catering and admission prices to name but a few. I suspect families have been targeted first as they are going to draw in more revenue - you get the image of 2 parents and 2 kids in freshly purchased scarves, eating overpriced hotdogs and watered down Smartprice Diet Kola - than the average bloke. As Rocky alludes to as well, I think they authorities believe if they can get the grounds full of above stereotype then it gets crowds further and further away from those who enjoyed standing or creating a hostile atmosphere. I also said that I hoped that the SPL's initiative wouldn't start and stop with families and that they might want to find out why people have fallen away and see what would bring them back. That to me is as equally important as getting fresh blood in.

I don't think its that much of a surprise if McGhee's interest in O'Brien and indeed Paterson for matter. If he's as strapped for cash as he was making out earlier in the season then it makes sense to go for players you know and that can do a job for you, rather than taking a gamble on an unknown. There is ofcourse the chance that its all a bit of a smokescreen aimed at putting O'Brien off his game when we play them next week. With his good rapport with the media I don't doubt there will have been one or two journos happy to take a wee bit of gossip from a suitability informed source and run with it. I don't recall any mention of contract talks with O'Brien so it will be interesting to see if there is anything ongoing that we don't know about or if it forces the club's hand any. I quite like the idea of Gannon's Thursday press conference next week opening with news of O'Brien's new contract at Fir Park!

If we're getting a bit of extra dosh for staging this - GREAT! If by having the game at Fir Park is pissing off St Mirren and/or Hearts fans - GREAT! And while the Jambo quoted in the Scotsman clearly has a cheek really if both the clubs and both sets of fans want to play it at Hampden, it should really be at Hampden.

The flip side to that is that it was our 4th away game out of the last five and if you've attended them all you are talking £80+ in away games in the last month in admission money alone.

Goals, the stats would seem to back up, that they came more regularly a bit further into the season, but the free flowing football was there from game one. We had roasted the Saints defence and had a goal of the season candidate against St Mirren by about 3 minutes past three on the opening day of the season. We also had the rather curious scenario of the whole of the East Stand singing and cheering the team off the park after the loss against Killie such was the level of performance and that was only 2 or 3 weeks into the season. I think all in all though its one of these stats that you can cast up to emphasise a positive and we all like to see and read positive stuff about our team, so its a good news story for me that we are better off points wise.

I agree with much of that. We were beginning to get up a head of steam as it was when Beuzelin was sent off and we were really dominant in the last 15 minutes of the first season. I didn't see the need for the change at that time myself. Ofcourse you could argue the change worked as he came on and scored but at half-time, Murphy seemed like the option for the last 20 minutes when they had tired after playing for a while with 10 men. If Craigan wasn't injured then you have to question the change on a defensive level. If he wasn't injured, to remove him and make what was already an unfamiliar defensive group even more inexperienced and patched up - and also removing Hateley from the midfield - just to make some petty point or statement is pretty poor stuff. Again ofcourse debatable as to whether Craigan would have helped avoid the goals but organisationally I think we would have been better at the back. Ofcourse he buggered off quick sharp so at this moment in time we can only speculate as to his motives and reasons for the change. Overall though its very much a case of mixed emotions. Quietly confident beforehand when I heard of the injury problems, I would have been happy with a point. Coming back twice from behind to equalise also makes me pleased to get a point. Yet at the same time it does feel a bit like an opportunity missed with the sending off and penalty. I suppose when the dust settles we've gone away for a derby game, came home undefeated, have kept up the unbeaten away record in the league, sit top half after the first round of games is a more than reasonable return for our efforts thus far.

Craigan, in the interview that was shown at half-time. Had been done in the build up to the game by the looks. Obviously he might well have said it at any time during the filming but was quite eyebrow raising stuff at times. From memory also mentioned how some managers feel they have to come in and make a point. How Gannon was much more intense than McGhee who was more laid back in contrast and how he enjoyed working for him.

To have interviews with club skippers who end their feature with the line.... "If Motherwell don't want me I'm sure someone else will have a shot at me"

Your thoughts on this one folks?

I would be delighted if the club came up with an interest free monthly payment scheme for the whole season ticket too. I think even if there was a small interest fee involved I'd be happy with that. I currently pay mine by credit card, work out the cost over the season and pay it off over the season. Admittedly I'm likely to be buying my ticket whatever scheme is in place so its perhaps more relevant to MFC for non season-ticket holders, or lapsed holders to answer whether that would encourage them to buy or not, but a good idea nonetheless.

Another couple of mine that haven't already been mentioned were the 4-1 defeat to Raith Rovers in 1991 after we'd won the Scottish Cup. I remember going in a right huff coming down from Kirkcaldy - thumping defeats like that weren't meant to happen to Scottish Cup winners! Another couple of sickeners for me were Airdrie's first season back in the Premier League in the early nineties. We always struggled to get the better of Alex McDonald's thuggery and it was little different when he became manager of Airdrie. It was bad enough losing to them when they scored the winner with 10 men in injury time around October but by the time they came and won 3-0 in March it just seemed the lowest of the low. The team had given up the ghost on the season since getting knocked out the Cup and had nothing to play for. The East Stand saw shouting matches and threats of square go's week in, week out - and some of that was with the players. The Great Leap Forward that everyone hoped we'd take after winning the Cup had completely fizzled out. At 3-0 with quite a bit of time left, I spat the dummy out and stormed out. It was pretty stupid really since my old man was still inside and I'd no way to get home and nothing to do other than wait by the motor. Worse was the fact that all my mates from school in the away end all saw me, naturally thought it was hilarious and have never let me forget it. Bastards!

Tight one but a win for Hutch.

Trust me, you aren't missing anything! It was an incredibly cheesy effort the players of the day were forced to do because of a sponsorship deal Motherwell had at the time with the Scottish Health Education Group. If you see old games from that time the East Stand had a huge advertisment 'Don't Take Cigarettes to the Match' other stuff about wearing condoms and all sorts of stuff like that throughout the programme. And for some reason they came up with the song. I seem to remember the words being printed in a programme of the day - probably around 1986 - if you are sad enough to want to look for them - but I do remember the start "Motherwell, Motherwell, go for good health and be a winner as well" and the final lines which were along the lines of "and we'll win the game and the league and the cup". Quality stuff......

Pink it may be but it still didn't look as bad as yon effort the Hearts keeper had on, on Saturday!

He did. Was a shot from down the left wing towards the goal at their Pavillion end. I remember that being a right good day and E-I-O Down you go Airdrie! Airdrie! a particularly popular ditty that afternoon.

Is this not the hospitality bit that Onthefringes attracted the attention of the locals and plod whilst celebrating our victory there last time? If so, perhaps not the greatest place to be if we get the result we hope for.