Andy_P

Would that not just be the team photo for season 1991'92?

From your several posts about him in the past you've clearly formed your opinion of him and those are very unlikely to be changed, which is fair enough. For me he had done everything and more that could have been asked of him since he arrived up until the injury at the start of the season. He had produced several assists towards the end of the season when he came into the team, got that all important goal against Killie last season and grabbed a couple of late winners in the League Cup games against Edinburgh City and Berwick. But it's just been stop start and never happened for him since between injury, never quite getting the necessary level of match sharpness and it has to be said questionable form. I'm sure that when he when was persuaded to head north it would not have been with a vision of playing left wing-back nor is it a position that I think that gets the best from him. But he has proven himself to an adequate stand-in, in the role and provides the necessary versatility as and when we do go with four in midfield. Next season is a big one for him though. He has to make a bigger impression or he's going to find himself increasingly more vulnerable as the likes of Livingstone and Hastie return to the club with a hunger for more first team action following their respective loan spells.

I'm not that sure apologists of the likes of Boyd or even maybe Brendan Rogers attempting to influence the referee is going to have that much of an effect to be honest. I mean really, what whinges can possibly have that aren't immediately going to be trumped by Stephen Robinson rhyming off the list of decisions that have been proved to be completely and utterly wrong in games against Celtic, when the questions come? The consequences of those decisions mean that Motherwell hold the moral high ground going into this one. If Robinson were to appeal for fairness or even if he did want to go down the same route and throw in the "decisions balance themselves out" line into the conversation, only really blinkered Celtic sympathisers could really argue against it. It obviously won't stop them but anything that comes from Celtic in advance of the Final about refereeing will be seen for exactly for the none too subtle attempt it is.

I don't think I could have hoped for better in all honesty. I shared the hesitancy some have written of when seeing the team but my concerns were ill founded and, but for a wee iffy start to the second half apart, it was a leisurely and enjoyable afternoon. It certainly made a difference that we still had next week to keep us motivated but Accies looked like they'd down tools and gave, what was an unexpectedly reasonable support for them, absolutely nothing. But then I think a fair amount of that was down to what we were doing. For example I can think of a few occasions where they pressed back so far they had to resort to giving the ball back to their keeper to start again. Was pleased to see Cifti get a goal, albeit it was as easy a finish as he could dream of. His second was altogether more tricky and for once the close control that can often see him land on his arse having lost the ball, was perfect and he tucked away the ball with aplomb. A real shame he couldn't get the third to get his hat-trick. Nice also to see Aldred get on the scoresheet - another new goalscorer for us in a season where so many have chipped in. I can't remember where I read it or heard it during the week the statement was made about us having the lowest average starting age in the top flight this season and that average might well have been nudged a little lower again today. Turnbull once more looked assured in midfield, Maguire was pretty dominant at times and impressed by showing his versatility in a couple of different defensive systems. Chucky wasn't bad either and latterly it was good to see another off the conveyor belt in Liam Brown. Again as already stated a day of lots of positive with the clean sheet, no new injuries and giving a few youngsters some game time. The "lap of honour" was toned just right following the game too. A good degree of mutual appreciation with a sense of some work still to be done and the celebrations not too over the score. We certainly rounded off the league campaign in good style. Now, to Hampden...

Your thoughts and votes please...

I must admit I quite enjoyed that last night. There's something a little cruel about taking pleasure in beating a team that simply has to get a result but are so utterly hapless but I'm sure few gave a care when it was us that situation. There were some echoes of the recent Dundee game where our opponents could easily have been ahead literally seconds into the game, went on to miss a few decent opportunities/had chances saved, seemed to be resigned to their fate for a good part of the second half then came on strong at the end and required us to show a good deal of character to eventually get the win. Thistle were well on top early on but when they hadn't got in front and we had a spell of earning four or five corners in quick succession it appeared to unsettle them and they never quite regained the dominance they had. It was an interesting change at half-time from Robinson but it worked a treat and I thought we were comfortably the better side for much of the second half. Lovely delivery for the goal and finish from Bowman. And absolutely brilliant to the see first of several hissy fits from Cerny as a consequence! There were a couple terrific performances from the likes of Campbell and Turnbull and McHugh had one of his better games too, albeit still getting caught in possession on the odd occasion and the general doggedness that epitomises the team was fully evident across the side. A pretty important win in terms of finishing seventh but more importantly just good to get back on track after Saturday's shambles.

Your thoughts and votes please...

Has it not been commented on a couple of occasions that we'll be wearing our existing kit and that the reason we've been wearing our away kit recently was that it was off to embroidered for the Cup Final?

Pleased for Moult. Such things as last minute winners can really endear you to an unconvinced audience. I remember for example Don Goodman who in all honesty looked a bit shit when we brought him back to the UK. But a goal in the last game of the season away to Dunfermline meant supporters went away over the summer with a different view of him altogether. A full pre-season with his new club, a decent start to the season and I think he might well have gone on to win the Player of the Year award.

Certainly yes, when making telephone bookings for both the League Cup Semi Final and Final when preferences were expressed I was advised that no assurance could be given for either a particular section of area within a section because these were being latterly processed, and that as a consequence there would be a delay in being able to collect. Even if it wasn't explicitly stated on this occasion Dave it realistically seems the only approach they could take with existing staff numbers. Unless they tried to mitigate queues by gettting in a stack of extra people in for what would be an undetermined period or they considered doing what they did in 2011 and had an extra outlet for sales in the town centre itself. It would seem unlikely that with queues stretching up the street and however many callers pressing re-dial that the staff are going to leave purchasers standing idling in front of them or leave the phones ringing out whilst they nip through repeatedly to what is an already compact ticket office and to try to do the "three from the top and another two of your choice Carol" routine every time a telephone booking comes in. Not to mention Cooper bus bookings going on also. Given the conditions they were operating under it seems a fairly common sense approach to me. As Katie says though hopefully such issues will be resolved going forward.

I mentioned last night in the Cup Final thread my discussion with a Celtic fan at work. What I didn't mention was my bold assertion that at least we wouldn't have a collapse in the manner that Rangers did in two of Celtic's last high profile matches. I might want to re-address that after today's shambles. I didn't see that coming at all before the game, or indeed even during it, but it was extremely concerning just how easily we folded after the first was conceded. Now admittedly we had one or two absent but still, that's just not not acceptable. I actually thought we were edging it before we conceded. It was far from dominant but we'd earned a few corners, there were a few dangerous balls coming into the box. There was no hint of what was to follow. It was bold/reckless from Robinson at half-time depending upon your view. Such wholesale changes have sparked comebacks of sorts in the past but the set up left us extremely susceptable to conceding again with so many attack minded players squeezed into the line up. Had we got the first goal of the half (dare I admit I stuck few pence on a draw at half-time) then we might have had the momentum to sustain a period of pressure but we just looked imbalanced and ill at ease and for all those fowards and attack minded players there wasn't a whole created. In contrast St Johnstone continued to pick us off at opportune moments aided by a continuation of our poor defending. You can usually take some positives from a game but there are very few things you can take from that today. Perhaps even the fact that Ryan Bowman would be your positive given how he went off last week. Morale sapping stuff.

Your thoughts and votes please...

Had a brief but interesting chat with a Celtic fan at work today about the Final. He was pretty respectful of our abilities and was of a mind that his team would not get an easy ride. He naturally thinks his team will him but believes we would have a better chance were it not for the fact they secure the double treble by beating us. He seems to think that regulars as they may be in Cup Finals the significance of the achievement will ensure there will no complacency of their part and they aren't treating this as just another day at Hampden. I personally don't think a Celtic side going for another treble will be significantly different from one that isn't but it was an interesting view nonetheless.

You perhaps jest but that was actually in the blurb that if and when we make our Hampden Semi Final you will be view a seat plan of the National Stadium and select your seats from it.

I found yesterday altogether more satisfying than one ordinarily would in a game that meant comparatively little to us when set against some of post-split fixtures we've played in recent times. How utterly delightful to send McCann, McGowan et al back up to Tayside snivelling and whining all the way. I see some post-match attempts at deflection going on (again) from McCann but if I were him I'd be absolutely fizzing with his side for failing to take anything from yesterday. I don't know if I'd agree with Stephen Robinson that we conceded against the run of play. I thought started shakily, they should really have scored after about 15 seconds, and routinely made chances against us throughout the half. Some strong claims around us in the East Stand at half-time about the ball going out of play before their goal and some foul play in the box (haven't seen the highlights yet), but surely rule number should apply here - you play to the whistle. We didn't appear to do so and were punished for it, potential officiating errors notwithstanding. We had of course hit the post by then ourselves and it was important that we got level so quickly. It looked a pretty well worked set piece at first glance. We got a real boost from scoring and the intensity rose until the Bowman injury. I'm afraid that just seemed lunacy that he remained on the park as long as he did before going off. It's not even a case of being wise after the event he never improved beyond limping and if there was any doubt whatsoever he should have been straight off. It has been my major fear since the Semi-Final about either Main or Bowman getting injured given our paucity of options up front and we've now seen both succumb to varying degrees. Second half I was actually very impressed with our tempo and how much control we had until the last 10-15 minutes. Wonderful to see Cedric finally get his goal and the resultant two or three minute celebration but apart from that one occasion where their double-barrelled named loanee, whose name escapes, me had his shot blocked after he mis-controlled I was pleased how much of the game was being played in their half. It kind of fell away a little, perhaps co-incidentally - or perhaps not, when Allan Campbell went off but we showed good resilience to complete the job with Bigi hounding McGowan and forcing him to retreat, retreat, and retreat once more as he attempted to launch a final attack a great way to finish the game. All in all a great win in a game that had much more meaning for our opponents than ourselves. I didn't think James Scott had a massive impact in all honesty but his development will be a lot better for his experiences yesterday and I was particularly impressed with the mobility that Grimshaw showed. He has always had tenacity and doggedness but I think his sharpness has really benefited from his recent regular inclusion and his performances gone up a lot as consequence. A good afternoon.

Your thoughts and votes please...

One of last season's away kits but with this seasons sponsors logo, who only came on board in the summer, so not just a case of scrambling around for kit. Presumably it would had to have been registered at some point for them to use.

It's interesting to see that away kit. From what you can see it does look like the away kit we had for 90'91 and 91'92 but with a different style collar. I don't know if there was a late change of mind in relation to the final signing off of the kits for 1990'91, although given what transpired the following summer I suspect it's more likely to have been that Admiral simply didn't have things ready in time but at one time or another there was a photo kicking about of Luc Nijholt, presumably after he signed, in a home kit for that season that also had a different style collar. That was a sold claret round neck collar with a wee cross over thing. It may have been an Admiral thing, although Hearts collar from the same season is different, but both Motherwell and Rangers ended up with that wee wee zig-zagy style v neck collar.

Going by what was said on the podcast with Grant Russell late on last week you might be able to contribute a few bucks directly to the club to watch away games. Well, if you're abroad at least.

Your thoughts and votes please...

I'm fairly sure the OP isn't querying if there will be a one off Cup Final kit and then a new kit for next season, more wondering if there will be a re-release of the current strip with some Cup Final script on it, as was the case in 1991.

The SRU's ticketing partner was Viagogo not Ticketmaster.

I think you've answered your own question there as to exactly why they won't change it Petty - namely that the setup has been handed down year after year, decade after decade. I don't think anyone is likely to disagree with your point and I completely agree it's a complete pain in the arse having to do a tour of Glasgow and have your nose rubbed in it by passing that Polmadie cut off. But the very fact they have upwards of 60% who know where their buses will park, what train station they generally get pointed to and what turnstiles they should go to and have done so pretty much every time they've played at Hampden is exactly the reason why the police won't sanction turning those plans on it head.

With one or two exceptions I would imagine the arrangements will largely replicate those of the League Cup Final. I would like to think we'll have Section A of West Stand, half the Main Stand and the top tier of the Main Stand as our starting point. Depending upon demand that would potentially leave blocks of Section B (wank wank wank) and the top tier of the Main Stand to be handed over to Celtic if we don't require them. In an ideal world we would get a 50/50 split but the reality is there just isn't the demand and it would cost the club money to have blocks of empty seats sitting unused if in the unlikely event the SFA would sanction us getting a 50/50 split. The profile of the Scottish Cup is higher than that of the League Cup Final so perhaps we might get closer to the 17,000 odd of the 2011 Scottish Cup Final than the 13,000 odd from the League Cup Final just past. That to me would be a reasonable point to begin our negotiations and in being seen to be reasonable, should it come into play, I would hope the club would push for and the SFA would be amenable to some kind of setup where the first couple of rows of the top tier of the Main Stand remain unsold to prevent a repeat of the scenario where 'Well fans were "coming under fire" from Celtic fans above.

Potential slight dilemma for Robinson now it looks almost certain it's going to be Celtic. Cifti will be ruled out and with Newell's face in bits we're light for cover for Main and Bowman. If either of the two of them were to pick up an injury before the Final though that would be a massive blow. Time to dig out the cotton wool?