Andy_P

Your thoughts and votes please...

I'm going to put it out there. I don't give a flying fuck if Rangers do or don't sell Morelos.

More to come says the manager. Make it so...

Your thoughts and votes please...

Wee bit of kit history from the Aberdeen website from a couple of years back. Makes mention of the black and gold briefly and it's brief reintroduction (I had it in my mind it was blue and gold mind you) from the 1990's. Might be of interest... https://www.afc.co.uk/2017/06/26/the-history-of-the-blue-kit/

That's a fair summary. The first half was excellent and it was so frustrating not to get in ahead. You are left wondering what the mentality and strategies of both teams would have been had we gone in ahead. But Rangers scoring saw a big momentum switch. I thought we looked much less structured at the start of the second half. It felt inevitable they would score. We were giving them cheap possession again and again. But, showing how much I know, I felt they scored when we had began to look as comfortable as we had been all half. And we had started creating and getting up the park a bit more. Frustrating not to get anything but a creditible display in comparison to some sides at Ibrox this season. Encouragement to be found in the different style and formation that we adapted to. For a while there we seemed to be set on one style with no genuine alternative. Handy to have that up our sleeves for when the occasion warrants. The challenge, as ever, is to try to reach a similar level of performance on a stinking day in front of 4000 as they did in a full house of 50,000. Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk

One game to go until we've played everyone. Would be nice to finish the first third umm... third.

Your thoughts and votes please...

We must be due our once in a decade league victory in there soon. Challenging for the title, impressing in Europe they'll for a minute expect us to go in there and turn them over. Especially after lulling them into a false sense of security last November...

I think it John Chapman who recounted a tale along the lines of one of the Rangers board apologising to him ahead of the game that they were having a party at full-time and so wouldn't be available for the customary post-match pleasantries. Motherwell of course won 2-0 and upon chancing upon the same individual after the game made a point of enquiring how the party was going...

Oh spirit of Lionel Ainsworth I conjour ye from distant southern non league lands to instil belief, and the odd goal or three, into those fine claret and amber clad warriors on the Sabbath cometh....

I don't know. I think we might be "protected" in January to some extent if Celtic don't meet the original valuation given that he extended his contract until 2021 in March this year. But if when he recovers he doesn't quite reach the heights of last season and we begin to move into that last year then I would think that would be quite a dilemma for the club. Do they hope with a full pre-season he recovers the form of old or begin to lower their expectations a little. Tricky one again.

I don't want to lose full stop and a 3-0 loss does nothing for the goal difference either but the manner in which we lost yesterday will hopefully lead to lessons being learned more than it were a narrow scrappy single goal loss. For there is plenty to learn from. My eyebrows were raised a little when James Scott stepped up to take the penalty. I don't really know who else on the park would have been a candidate mind you but I was impressed at his eagerness and lack of fear in stepping up (I remember thinking likewise when David Turnbull took his first penalty also). It goes down as a miss but at first viewing it seemed more a great save than bad miss. The loss of the first just compounded the frustration. The build up to it has been well discussed, and to be fair to Cosgrove it was a great finish, but suddenly from licking our lips at taking on a team that apparently had to put two full-backs in midfield to put out a team, we were now a goal behind to team with a minimum of six defensively minded players. And we just never really seemed to come to terms with it. The second just seemed to perfectly illustrate the malaise when two of your most consistent performers of the season fanny about, lose possession and gift them what even as early as it came felt like the clinching goal. Their third was another good finish whilst we waited to bring on another forward. It certainly raises major question marks over whether we have it within us to be contenders for in and around 3rd place but the more realistic target of a top half finish remains very much achievable. A defeat to an Aberdeen team, regardless of scoreline yesterday, expected for finish above us isn't going to change that. Given how we defended and the potential loss of Hartley I can't say I'm confident at all and looking forward much to next Sunday though.

Your thoughts and votes please...

For me Aberdeen have enough about them for us to ensure we aren't going in over-confident but they are certainly a team that gives me huge satisfaction dishing out a bloody nose to.

Back to business!

I don't disagree with any of that Yorky, but I still believe based on his previous experience he won't just jump at the first offer that comes his way. He'll be more inclined to consider something that is as right as it possibly can be before moving on.

There's a few different facets to it. Given that the club have only recently tied him down to 2022 it might not just be down to might want his services, but who are willing to pay what Motherwell would deem an appropriate amount of compensation for his release. I also suspect that given he had his fingers burned somewhat at Oldham he's going to be a little more picky than a manager being offered a role in England for the first time.

I'm really pleased for Gallagher. In all honesty I can't say I particularly noticed him for Livingston (admittedly I missed two of our games against them last season) so I don't know how much his form at Livi played a part, but from day one with Motherwell he has really looked the part. To have the ability to be strong in the tackle and dominant in the air is a pre-requisite of a good centre-half, but its evident he brings a lot more to the team than those defensive attributes. It's also really pleasing given the way he and his family seem to have embraced playing for the club. Things like his kid getting a Motherwell strip with his number and being photographed in the tunnel, his missus getting involved in the Ladies Day initiative and the simple but appreciated gesture of going to supporters at full time regardless of result. Good on you Declan. Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk

Given that Saints plundered four points last season from not massively dissimilar games last season it was pleasing to get the win yesterday. I've seen us come unstuck in many a fixture like that over the years. For all Robinson suggested it was one of the best performances of the season in the first half it was a game I never really felt comfortable about until Long's emphatic finish at the end. When you are giving up nine corners to the opposition you think sooner or later something has to drop for them, although ironically a couple of really good chances for ourselves actually came from their corners. I think there has been a definite shift in mentality about believing in their abilities to break down teams who are attempting to make things stuffy at Fir Park. The flip side to not appearing to have an out and out goalscorer for the opposition to focus on is that currently is that there are a number of threats from right across the team. I think we're into double figures of different players who have scored this season and whilst none of them may have consistency of finding the net there is the potential for a goal to come from anyone in that team. So again it was really encouraging that the temptation to lose faith in the ability and resort to hoofing it was very pleasing and resulted in a terrific goal from James Scott. As you might expect they rallied somewhat in the second half but Gillespie's tip over and Hartley's timely emergence from seemingly nowhere to block apart I thought we generally defended everything they hit us with well. The display of Barry Maguire was another positive and if he can turn in similar displays it won't so much be a case of having back up for Liam Donnelly but a genuine challenger for his position. All in all very happy to go into the latest break on the back of a very good result.

Your thoughts and votes please...

No wins against this lot at Fir Park since they came back up. Saturday seems like as good a time as any to change that! And before we get too much into the game a reminder of the club's Foodbank Collection on Saturday also.

I was thinking "Ace" Rimmer Red Dwarf style travelling through all the parallel dimensions.... to find one where he gets his 2-0 Cole first goalscorer coupon up. Maybe I'll just be clearer that I'm speculating about an outcome next time. Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Tapatalk

Your view that Ross County were deserved winners last weekend at Fir Park caught my eye Dave and with that in mind I'm a bit surprised to see you suggest St Johnstone should probably have won this week. I think if you are of the belief that County were deserved victors last week I can't see that you can suggest Motherwell weren't worthy winners this week for like County the week before we were on the back foot a fair bit, defended when required, rode our luck and took the opportunity when it came our way. For me there wasn't much in it. Gillespie had the terrific penalty save, the excellent save at the end and they had an opportunity where Davidson flashed his header wide. For us Cole inexplicably missed from a yard out, Gallagher's header flashed past the post and Cole of course atoned for his earlier miss. Beyond that they might well have had more possession but it wasn't exactly backs to the wall stuff. I suppose you have to consider the timeline of events. Had Cole put the sitter away and his second had it made 2-0 you wonder what kind of response St Johnstone would have mustered and how we might have approached the game differently. But if you're only a goal behind there is always a chance. Like when some clueless referee give you a penalty because you've went down in the box so many times that he supposes one of them must be a penalty for example.... The disappointing thing was that we never really threatened to add to our lead in the second half, especially as the match wore on. Understandable perhaps that they would not want to over commit having lost the weekend before from a winning position. Really happy to get the win at a place that isn't renowned for being a happy hunting ground and good to get immediately back on track after the loss last week. It's funny to think that if the last 15 minutes against Ross County had gone differently then we could easily be sitting a couple of points off second and just three of top spot.

Your thoughts and votes please...