joewarkfanclub

I would expect a full strength team as close to the Dundee starting 11 as SK can get. Hope to get the job done early and start to give other players minutes around the 60 minute mark. At least 1 more new face in the door by then (thats me speculating, not ITK!) 4-0 Motherwell, Obika hat trick (he will obviously need about 10 chances and at least one of them will be off his arse.)

Very interesting to hear him say a minimum of 3. I presume that must be off the back of how successful he has been getting bodies out the door. Thats good news as he will obviously have his targets in mind and he must think they are better the the players he has moved on. Fingers crossed he is right!

Fair enough. Cant really argue with that. I tend to take what SK says with a pinch of salt though. I personally think he uses very clever language at times to cover for the fact that he doesnt rate a player, or there maybe a problem with that player that he doesnt want to go public with until he gets another club to take them from us. He cant exactly say, "I dont fancy Danzaki cause he is shite and way below the fitness levels I expect from a professional athlete" and expect other clubs to take them off our hands. He has been very good at getting a lot of the deadwood off our books. Lets see if he is as good at bringing in players better than the ones he let go.

Im sensing a bit of negativity from you towards the manager and how this window is going, which is generally not like you. Whats he done or not done that is irking you?

Im not sure the football was grim when we got to the 2 cup finals. It was physical and combative, sure, butnit had a purpose and I found it very entertaining. It had run its course by the following season though and as Robinson tried to find a way to play more football with new players, we started to get found out. I think there is a fine balance to be had at our level between being competitive and easy to watch. For me SK got it just about right last season. Whereas Alexanders version was absolutely brutal to watch, even when we were winning. Now that the majority of the deadwood is all but gone, it will be an interesting couple of weeks. I dont expect a flood of signings, but it would be nice to get a couple in that you could be enthused about.

Pitch looked excellent from the Hunter Stand. Am I missing something here?

Spittal is one of our best and most productive players. He didnt have his best game yesterday, but his work rate and attitude were still first class. Even when things are not coming off for him his head doesnt go down and he is always available for a pass and tries to make things happen.

Thought the back 3 were all generally solid with McGinn being the pick of the 3. But for me, MOTM was Slattery. Always looking for the ball, always looking for the forward pass, and generally at the heart of anything good we did today.

Felt it was a comfortable peformance today albeit a little underwelming. There were periods of the game where we controlled the pace of the game and dictated the play, but we werent able to maintain it for any period of time. Queens Park knocked the ball about nicely, but we contained them pretty well for the most part and limited them to very few chances. The last period of the game would have be a bit more comfortable if we had got the 2nd goal, but we didnt and invited a bit of unecessary pressure on ourselves as a result. Re the squad. I think the back 3 looked more assured today but agree re the wing backs. Soare looks short of fitness and SOD continues to look awkward at times. His first touch is generally excellent and he does some very good things, but continually spoils the good play by doing something stupid. Midfield is a work in progress. Miller was decent enough first half but faded badly in the 2nd. Slattery had a decent game today and Spittal showed plenty of energy but was far less effective than usual. Up front Obika has to be a starter at the moment. Not seeing anything from big Wilkinson as yet to suggest there is a player in there, but its early days. My preference next week would be to see Ferrie alongside Obika, unless of course we have someone else waiting in the wings. Overall 6/10 today.

I think whats most encouraging at the moment, is that there appears to be a plan and structure about the way we are going about our business, which sets it apart from the splatterdash signings under previous managers.

Alexander wasnt that great....... Boom! Grizzly is missing all these open goals....

This is likely to be the toughest game of the section. Thankfully we are at home and on a good surface. Hopefully we can get Casey and Blaney on the park and shore up the defence a bit. Looking forward to seeing Soare in the flesh to see what quality he has. I would imagine it will be Obika and Wilkinson up top again and the midfield picks itself. I will go 2-0 Motherwell.

Some decent highlights there. Obika looks like he was really unlucky not to score at least 1 goal. Hitting the woodwork twice and a good save from their keeper. He should do better with the one in the second half, but he is getting in good positions. Lovely lay off for Slatterys goal.

Tonight was always going to be a tough fixture. Away from home on a plastic pitch only 3 days after our first competitive match of the season. Its no surprise that SK rotated the team (and defence in particular) as he has to protect certain players from an injury that could ruin theirs and our season. We are already without Butcher for a good few months. We cant afford to lose Blaney or Casey at this point, so Mugabi and Lamie had to play. I would doubt very much that we will see them again as a partnership unless its as a last resort. Sounds like we created more than enough chances to have won the game (18 with 12 on target) and SK has questioned the award of the penalty. QoS had 5 attempts at goal and scored 3. General play doesnt seem to be an issue, but being better in both boxes is a must. Overall, disappointing not to win the game but we did get the bonus point so its not a disaster. Be interested to hear from anyone at the game how Miller and Oxborough played, as well as the new boy Soare?

At least this is a debate I can engage with. Your probably right. It seems Im in the minority on here and thats fair enough, but its what I felt when I saw the strip. Being brought up in the West of Scotland certainly influences the way you think about certain things and undoubtedly makes you more sensitive to things that other people wouldnt give 2 seconds thought to. Suffice to say, I wont be buying this particular shirt. We move on.

Lennon Miller for me. Very solid performance and good goal to cap it.

This is just absolute bullshit.

I absolutely agree that we should wear what we wish. My objection to this kit has nothing to day with Rangers or Celtic. My objection is based on its association with an organisation that discirminates against a large section of our society.

You dont like a Motherwell kit without a claret band. So I think Im allowed to object to one with an amber sash if I feel like it.

Not sure what definition of bigotry you are using, but happy to be enlightened....

Really enjoyed that today. Cant beat an away day at a ground you havent been to before. Its part of what I like about this League Cup format, especially now they have done away with the regionalisation. Cracking wee oldskool ground. As for the game, very competent performance and we strolled it without really hitting the heights. The youngsters all aquitted themselves well. Wilson and Ross both looked steady enough and composed on the ball. Lennon Miller looks the real deal and took his goal really well. Young Ferrie looked sharp when he came on as well. It may well have been lower league opposition, but they all looked streets ahead of the youngsters in the Elgin team. Was interesting to see SOD start on the right of the back 3 and I didnt think he looked out of place at all. Blaney looks assured on the ball and even big Bevis had a decent game, albeit he was never really put under any pressure. I really like big Obika. I know he isnt very good in the air for a man his height, but he is a very tidy footballer with the ball at his feet and once he and Wilkinson get to know each other, I think there could be a partnership there. Glad he got his goal 2nd half to make up for the one he missed in the first. Wilkinson had a pretty quiet game, but there will be plenty more to come from him. Overall, a very good day at the office. Lots of room for improvement, but job done. Same again on Tuesday please.

If you cant see the difference between that and the new kit, then there is no explaining it. We live in the West of Scotland. I dont care about upsetting Celtic fans, but I dont want to be associated with an orange sash......

http://historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Motherwell/images/change-kits/motherwell-1973-1975-change.gif

Your link doesnt work....

The big problem with your argument is that none of the above was the players fault. They were victims of circumstance. As such they didnt take any action that was fellonious. Therefore they didnt steal anything.