joewarkfanclub

Hard to beat a Grimmy maisy........

Sad to see Grimmy go. He understood our club and our community because he came from a very similar town / background. He came across as a thoroughly decent human being. He shared in some really good moments with the club, in particular the 2 cup finals in one season. Best wishes to him for whatever the future holds.

Thought this deserved a thread of its own..... Was really pleased for Keith last night that we managed to get the win that kept all the fans behind and in great spirits to give him the send of he deserved. You could see and hear it was a very emotional experience for him and his whole family. There can be a lot of cheap talk thrown around when it comes to football players about who is a club legend and who is not, but for me I dont think there can be any doubt that Keith falls into that category. For a player to spend almost his entire playing career at one club in the modern era is almost unheard of these days and for me, over the last 20 or so years Keith has been Mr Motherwell. Coming in as he did in the administration season with the likes of Hammel, Faddy, Pearo et al, he quickly grasped the ethos of our club and became very much part of the fabric of it. For someone who wasnt brought up Motherwell fan, the fact that he and his whole family now are, says a lot. During his time at the club we have enjoyed 4 Cup finals, 2 League Runners Up spots and 8 European qualifications, including playing in the Champions League. To be club captain for such a large part of that success, says lot about him. The fact that he is also a damn fine human being, means he will be sorely missed by many at the club, including the fans. Ultimately, all good things must end and he is off to further his career in a new role. I for one, wish him all the best and thank him for some wonderful memories. ALL THE BEST "KEEF"

Now we have 4th place in our hands, Id quite like to keep it. We need to match whatever United do at Dingwall, but their point last night means Ross County now have nothing to play for but pride, so I can see United taking something in that game. Celtic will be up for a title party, but we've crashed a few of those before, so who knows....

Deano had a very good game. He gives you everything he has every week. As a team you need someone with that drive and energy in the engine room. He also has sufficient quality to hold his own in there against most teams. He is still learning obviously, but I think we are getting to the stage where he has to be considered a first team regular, rather than a budding academy graduate.

Lamie all day long.....

Here's hoping Ross County do us a favour, or we stun the entire world by getting a result at Parkhead!

Great win. Great 3 points. Good start, lost our way a bit until half time. Much better second half. Showed plenty of grit and determination to get the result over the line. Played a bit more football through midfield as well. Cant help feeling if we had been watching that Motherwell all season, there would have been a lot less complaints about entertainment value, and who knows, maybe a few more points in the bag. Still, all a bit churlish now. European football is in the bag and the manager deserves credit for the things he got right and the chance to show he has learned from the things he didnt. Great scenes at the end and a fitting send of for Keith which was clearly very emotional for him and his family.

Agreed. How we win tonight is not important. Just win.

Thats a fair point. It might not win, but it certainly deserves to be on the shortlist. Of those on the list, I think Slatterys first goal is the pick of the bunch. Lovely touch to create space and a sweet finish.

I think you mean tropes!

Couple of good posts from El Grew and Stuwell2, which encompass a lot of my own thoughts. Not even the most positive of posters on here can truthfully say they have enjoyed this season, but now its coming to the end maybe we can get a bit of perspective on it. We finished top 6. We might still get Europe. The manager isnt getting fired. We will see big changes on and off the field in the summer. I think undoubtedly lessons will have been learned and honest discussions between the board and the manager had. Lets get out in numbers tonight and cheer the team over the line.

Win tonight and we guarantee European football, as long as County and United dont take anything from the uglies. Also Keith Lasleys last home game before he departs. Lets get the old place rocking tonight and give a club legend the send off he deserves!

Only saw bits and pieces today and Kellys saves were undoubtedly key to the victory. However, we have come to expect that from him. The other player that drew my eye today was the much maligned O'Donnell. He showed some very good touches, got in some decent deliveries and from what I saw had a pretty decent game. Hope Im not wildly wrong as was only able to cast a glance at the game while working!

Our home record v Hearts is pretty decent. Lets get right in about them and guarantee that European spot with 3 points.

Ya Bezzer makes a fair point, and its that kind of realism that has kept me from calling for the managers head despite the atrociously poor fayre we have had to endure this season and the very poor run since xmas. All that said, there are some things to like about this team. They definitely do appear to have a certain mental strength about them. Numerous times this season we have gone behind and come back to snatch points that appeared gone. There were certainly some games in the first half of the season when we won games by the sheer force of willpower. That level of grit and determination forged a pretty strong bond between the fans the players and the manager early on in the season. Its a shame it was mostly undone in the second half. The last few weeks though I have seen hints of a change of attitude from Alexander in respect our style of play. We played a lot more thru the midfield last week and the little bits I saw today seemed to be the same. That is encouraging, and with some of the things he has said in interviews this week it it clear he knows fine well what we have all been saying and appears he seems minded to address it. Thats all I needed to see and hear. If it continues for the final 2 games and there is a clear plan in place to improve the squad for hopefully a tilt at europe, then he will have earned my respect back and the right to go into next season with my full support.

Think the managers hands have been tied this week with illness and injury. Can only hope the players can dig a performance out of somewhere. Cant help thinking its a good day to be at work!

I see we have a few players struggling with illness who havent trained all week. With the injuries and suspensions we have already had, its shaping up to be another tough weekend.......

He signed Connor Shields and Tierney and Mahon from Ireland......

Leaving the Watt debate aside, I really hope that GA does something to combat the threats of Hungbo and Charles-Cooke from the wide areas They have been a real pain in the arse and caused us all sorts of problems in our previous games this season. I think if we can negate them, you limit Ross Countys ability to hurt us. Of course, you have to marry that with a plan to allow us to retain a goal threat of our own and there in lies the problem. However, if we line up in our regular shape with Woolery and/or Efford in wide areas in a 4-3-3, we will just expose our full backs to another roasting. I guess a lot will depend on who is fit and able to play right back. But this is certainly not a game for punting big Bevis out there. Id be tempted to go with something like....... Kelly SOD/OHara Mugabi Lamie Carroll OHara/ Cornelius Donnelly Slattery Goss Tierney KVV If SOD is fit then take your pick from Cornelius/Donnelly/OHara for the midfield spot.

Aye. Fair point.

Really tough place to go at the best of times but they will be full of confidence and we are on a horrendous run......

Close thing for me between Tierney and Slattery. Tierney is very much a work in progress, but you can see the ability and the desire to create a chance or get a shot away. I can see him being an important player for us next season. However, I went for Slattery. He is our best midfielder by a mile and showed it yesterday.

The frustrating thing about yesterday is that we actually played some decent football for a change and created a fair few chances, partucularly in the first half. United may have had plenty of the ball, but they were doing precious little with it until they got the goal and even that is a wicked deflection. The problem for GA is that its another defeat on top of the already poor run of form that we have been on and makes it easy for his detractors to pile on and demand him gone. Whilst I have been teetering on the edge with him for some time, I dont see yesterday, in isolation, as a reason to call for his head. At least yesterdays defeat had a level of entertainment about it, and a mid table finish playing that style of football would be eminently more watchable than the majority of the fayre we have been served up all season. My only problem with yesterday was the substitutions again, which were baffling. Taking off Ojala for Efford seemed to make sense, but why not go to a back 3 and keep the extra man in midfield? Pushing OHara back to rightback didnt make any sense. Then he compounded it by putting Mugabi up front which was desperate enough in itself, but then to take Woolery off and put Donnelly on? Ive no idea how he thought that was going to get the goal we needed. All that said. The poor run of form does continue and the pressure continues to mount. GA needs to show he can turn this around. Next week would be a good place to start.

Id forgotten about Max Johnston. Id love him to get game time, develop and become a fixture in the team. Just not sure he will get that chance. However, Rooney is proven at our level. If we could get him on a free and get some of our dead wood out the door, he would be an asset as he can play a number of positions very well.