Wee Alpha

Been thinking that GA is reading "The Mixer", a book about tactics in EPL over the years. He has a team that were sitting comfortably in top 6 so why not play about with different tactics and squad rotation. Problem is we don't have the quality of Liverpool, Man City etc. Hopefully he realises what happens in his head is not happening on the pitch and he goes back to what he knows best. Is Goodwin and Martindale chopping and changing their team every match? Let's get a settled starting 11 and run with it for a month. Even happy for him to stick with 4 3 3 as that is what he knows.

And.....................................We're back. Same old ,same old. Are we going to win the league? No. Are we going to win a cup? If we get lucky! Will we get into top 6 ? If we get lucky! Will we get relegated ? No. Will it be the usual rollercoaster? Yes !! Thank goodness I forgot my password last night as I was raging coming back from Airdrie 'The real Local Derby' 1. Is it me or did nobody on the park see that giving away a throw in was as good as a corner for Airdrie!!!! 2. Who in this world would play high balls to Lawless!!! Can't fault his effort but some 18 inches in height may have helped his cause. 3. We have a greyhound in Woolery but the number of times the trap went up and the hare was missing!! O'Donnel preffering to stick to the plan and pass sideways or back!! 4. Nobody knows each other yet. Watt played some nice touches and dummies to someone not on his wavelength. 5. Tell you what, I'll cross this into the box which has two Motherwell players and seven Airdrie players!! 7.I said to my boy 'Watch this free kick' 'That's how to take them' 8. I'll be worried if things are the same come November but Airdrie are a settled team who know each other and play for each other and they know how to play the plastic pitch. We need time to gel and get a regular starting 11 . Agree with all above statements about central defence and creative midfielder also make us hard to beat first. Enjoy the ride and see you at the other side.

Thought this might bring back memories

Throwing this one out there. Do you think opposition managers have done their homework and have our tactics well and trully sussed. We have had a good start to the season , carrying on with our passing game rather than the hoofball we witnessed in the first half of last season. Our season turned around last year in January ( with the youngsters 'playing' football) .It seems to be the polar opposite now since January this year. We seem to be a one trick pony and can't change things around. Are we a team of two halves, either a good start then fade away or a crap start and turn things around. Anyhoo could be worse , could be a Jambo fan !

Hall, Erwin , Hastie and McInstry. have they had their heads been turned by Football Agents with commision on their minds? If they had stayed for another season and developed their trade here how would things have panned out. PS keep young Faddy on the radar

So bad it's good. So Las Vegas. oops Didn't upload but checkout Las Vegas soccer team strip.

I posted this back in April "We are beat before we get on the park. A new manager has come in with fresh ideas ,trying to change things ,trying to get a bunch of seasoned pros and 'journeymen' to get into his way of thinking. Baraclough was beaten before he started.Bit of contraversy now , he reminds me of a Mr Gannon who also came in with fresh ideas! What we needed was a Craig Brown to come in and steady the ship again , someone who has done the rounds and knew the Scottish game and would have kept us in with a shout of avoiding relegation. It may not have been pretty but we would have been difficult to beat" We don't need more fresh meat for our seasoned pros to feast on. The dressing room as it stands needs someone who is respected and has been around the scottish game for a few years. Someone who is not afraid to kick some comfortable butts. Come back Mark McGhee all is forgiven.

If players were on their game today we should have strolled it. Skippy was taking one touch too many instead of having a go first time. Marvin broke down 6 attacking moves in a row putting us on the back foot before he was hooked. Moult needs to get bulked up in the gym as he was being bossed about by central defenders and he only won headers against the full backs when he went wide. Laings route one usually came straight back to put defense under pressure. When is someone going to have a go from 25yds? We don't need to get it into the 18yd box to score! I feel we have the players to finish top 6 this year but we have to find 'well jerseys when we make passes.......simples. We are too easy to shut down and get put under pressure to make poor decisions. Hope things get sorted on the training pitch soon. PS can we also practise throw ins as it rips my knitting how long it takes to find a player!

I've followed the Well since 1968 through all the ups and downs and my favourite season was when we were in the old first division under Davie Hay . we played good football, scored lots of goals and the fans were entertained . The bottom line is we were 'winning' games and the fans went home happy. There was something to play for and everyone got behind the team. Where are we now? We are beat before we get on the park. A new manager has come in with fresh ideas ,trying to change things ,trying to get a bunch of seasoned pros and 'journeymen' to get into his way of thinking. Baraclough was beaten before he started.Bit of contraversy now , he reminds me of a Mr Gannon who also came in with fresh ideas! What we needed was a Craig Brown to come in and steady the ship again , someone who has done the rounds and knew the Scottish game and would have kept us in with a shout of avoiding relegation. It may not have been pretty but we would have been difficult to beat. If you are a seasoned pro and this guy tells you to play a certain way that you 'feel' is crap then you are going onto the pitch thinking 'this won't work' then it won't hence we are where we are. Bringing in some more 'seasoned' players was like a sticking plaster to stem the flow from a major artery that was gushing all season. It helped for a short while but as is now being seen we need major surgery! Maybe it's time to go down to the championship and start again with new blood and perhaps give Mr Baraclough the chance to build something good. ( I've not forgotten that we are a selling club, which means that if we do build something good it won't last . talk to Hibs supporters abouth their 'good' team which was plundered) . But if Mr baraclough can get a system in place where a talent production line can work then lets go for it. It will be a big gamble ( remember Man U fans wanted rid of Fergie in his first season!) The alternative, we carry on with seasoned pros, journeymen who will give us more of the same dross we have witnessed this season and perhaps put us into a Dunfermline like freefall. Nuff said ,what do you think

I think we'll still be chasing 2nd this season because the rest of the SPL are in a worse position than us!Yes , the sheep have spent on their flock as have the Arabs but we still have a 'team' and not a bunch of individuals. When you look back at the organisation of the lesser teams in the World Cup and even further back at Greece in the euros a few years earlier it can be seen that a well organised team can go far.That was what happened last season . No big transfers in ,no big star players, no young superstars coming through who we can sell on to Real Madrid! Just plain and simple teamwork .Yes, we bottle it in cup competitions and I'll be checking the queue at the bookies if we draw Civil Service Strollers in the first round of the cup .In all seriousness have been here before since the days of Willie McLean ,Roger Hynd et al . This has been a great time to support Motherwell and the Time will come when we are back with the St Middens and Kilmarnocks of this world .Enjoy it while you can.Mon the 'team'

It's a sad day when you are hoping the centre back will keep on going forward and have a crack at goal himself. I was in Spice of Life Stand and I could have been at Wimbledon as my head was flicking from left to right most of the game ( except when Rovers attacked ). I remember games where we would break away and attack the opposition goal (long memory ) . Today we break away , stop, go sideways or back and allow the opposition defence time to get themselves organised and then eventually lose the ball through bad passing or trying the hopeful cross into the box which could have been done 6 passes earlier ! Anyhoo , I feel we also lack LEADERSHIP on the pitch , someone to boot the occasional backside and get that spirit going ( " it's a cup tie ffs"). Everything seems so 'safe' nowadays , the sideways / back pass , stick to the plan and when you have no options left the big punt forward . I can't pick out any player to blame for yesterday as it is a collective embarrassment but I hope each has a good look at themselves and asks ' did I give it my all?' Being the 'well we'll probably give the Cellic a roastin on Friday. been here so many times

To the tune of "I am a passenger" ...."We are the Motherwell We are the Motherwe e e ll Na na na na nananana Na na na na nananana Rpt often Also when the unwashed do their huddle ,we could do a Posnan !!

Can we draw a line under this one soon . It's beginning to sound like an Old Squirm forum ! Whatever you do outside FP during the week is your own business . If you want to worship Satan , Captain Kirk or James McFadden it's your personal choice. We are part of the united gathering of 'well fans who don't give a toss on a Saturday what school you went to ( a common question in the Wild West ! ) I have worked in both sides of the school divide and can tell you it has nothing to do with what school they went to . It's what is brought into school from the home that is the problem. If schools were united then the rednecks of both camps would soon find some other minority to vent their spleens on . So come on guys lets put this one to bed and leave it for polititians to play with not football supporters.

Just back and am totally bemused. All credit to the 'midden they set up their stall 'not to get beat' and did it. In saying that ,Randolph was the busier keeper, why????? We are so one dimensional in attack. Put 2 men onto Humphrey and he's neutralised. Can anyone shoot from outside the box instead of trying to walk it into the goal? Why do we have possession well inside their half and the ball is passed back to our defence. The high ball is all well and good if someone receives the nod on from Sutton but who???? Jeffers or Casagolda ? which one . Jeffers ,not the player he used to be (or is he).Casagolda the preverbial headless chicken ,lots of movement but ..........no end product.Positives ,not many, Hutch has stepped into Reynolds shoes and is filling them well.Jennings did well but had too much to do in midfield (yes, Forbes should have replaced Lasley). Murphy ,some nice mazy runs but I think he needs a few weeks of to recharge his battery for the rest of the season.Gunning looks good but should have been hooked after his being scythed down.Will I be there on Sunday? Yes, cos its the 'Well and you never know what will happen!!!!

The time has come etc. New Manager :- Having survived many managers at the Ark ,I don't really care who we get as 1. If they are any good we will only have them for a short time and 2. God forbid they're gash and we punt them. I've been around for Malpass, Kampman, Roger Hynd and Willie McLean and Ally. So Managers come and managers go Will I still be there ? YES Players :- Every player wants to better themselves by moving on to bigger and better things,don't blame them. Like everyone else they are looking after No 1 . Nick Blackman , Alan Gow and any other 'well player with an ounce of talent will be off as soon as someone calls. Gone are the days of loyalty to a club , unfortunately there are no more Joe Warks around. Those who are 'loyal' to the club are just not good enough for anyone bigger Are todays players less talented than 60s 70s players ? No ,they're fitter and stronger but they have any talent they have coached out of them from a young age. They have to conform to play a 'tactical game' where not getting beat is the main theme. Hence zero entertainment ( with the exception of Hibs game, once in a blue moon ) Pricing:- Having paid for me and my boys to sit in the East Stand on a cold winters day with no toilets and NO PIES at Half time I thought ' 6 of my family could be in the warm cinema just now with coke and popcorn each for half the price'. thats entertainment value . Bring on summer football ASAP as well. SPL:- Time to smash the Duopoly. The biggot brothers have it sewn up. Champions League Money Guaranteed every year as long as they buy up any player / team that threatens to break that duopoly. Best way to get transfer to either of the biggot brothers is score against them ! A twenty team division to bring back all our 'town ' teams. The happiest time I had as a dosser was following Davie Hay's team around the country and watching us WIN on a regular basis Which WILL bring the fans back. Finally , you are a 'Well fan , we are punching above our weight, take the good with the bad . Hard times will come our way and we will rise and fall. Every now and then we will have our moments Faddy, Juke, Kirky, Dixie. Enjoy the rollercoaster !!!

Decided to stay at 6 - 2 and applaud the team for having a good season anyway. One of the best decisions I have made . Couldn't look when Forbes stepped up for penalty. So pleased Buzz made the most of his 'injury' to give us that Extra time to get Duke's 'strike of the decade'. Something to tell the grandchildren. and all that for just a tenner. I might even come back next season

Last time I was at San Giro, wee Dougie scored winner and had to keep hands in pocket as surrounded by the great unwashed. Last night ,however,I felt sooooo safe as we near enough had 1to1 protection from police and stewards Any hoo what a glorious minute that was. We were half way through " Lets all laugh at Celtic" when they scored. At times I thought I was watching Barca ( for 30 second patches ) then we'd give the ball away ( usually Jo'B). Thought Crags was immense and he can add Keane to the notches of world class forwards he has had in his pocket playing for NI eg Rooney, Torres? etc. Yes we lost two soft defendable goals , and it has been well covered in previous posts but from where I was sitting no one was picking up Thomson and even after he had scored 2 he still remained unmarked in the box when he came up for set pieces!!!!! In my day if the centre half came up for corners ,the centre forward came back and marked him. Another 'if only' night for the dossers but enjoyed my 'minute' and the team deserved their applause at the end for the effort they put in. Onwards and upwards

Does no-one remember Keith McRae . Britain's first £100,000 keeper . I've never seen a keeper at the ark since that came anywhere near . Sadly he faded away at Maine Road in the shadow of big Joe Corrigan.

Just back from the game ,gutted, but when Sloan and McHugh came on and had a go at the defence I saw that the future could be bright. If Murphy can get himself bulked up then I think we can have an attacking force that will take the rip out of most of the SPL. The boyos had 10 men behind the ball and it would have been hard for even the old squirm to break them down. Forbes showed that he can hit the ball from distance at the end . Why not sooner !!!! and more often. Jimbo has his work cut out for the return so why not invite Bellshill Athletic or someone like to practice breaking down a 10 man defence. Any pub team can pack them in but it wasn't until our young guns ran at them that we looked like scoring. Mon the young uns lets get some excitement back at the Ark . Keeping the faith

Gannon stakes his claim on 'well. I'll be there to egg him on and when the chips are down I'll head for the pineapple and say a few for the team Seriously, I'm quietly confident about this appointment.

"Europe League: Flamurtari find opponents who will be or Scotswoman or Wales" From Flamuurtari website . Hope something was lost in translation

Lighten up guys ! Late entry Mo Johnston " Motherwell are the only club I've wanted to manage" :lol:

There are two things that happen to Motherwell managers. 1 They move on or 2. They get sacked. I hope our next manager is in category 1 and they move on. Cos if they move on then that means they have done something right for the 'well. So cheerio MMG ( you can look out your old wellies!) but you must have done something right as we didn't sack you. Who knows , JB might find us another two season wonder , who cares, as long as we don't end up sacking him!!! Mon the hoop.

Chris McCart + somebody who has been through it all before to keep him right for a year. Big thanks to MMG for raising our stock again. Yes, we saw some stylish football in the first season and we sooo missed McCormack this year ( best in 40 years .Naw for me Davie Hay's squad had us motoring ). Anyways , a few lean years ahead with maybe a wee cup run ? Smith et al to sheepyland on you go . There will always be someone coming through or coming in to keep us going. Remember its a rollercoaster you have to endure the slow climb to experience the thrills. onwards and upwards Mon the Hoop !!!!