Ya Bezzer!

If we get a development fee for a striker that's scored 4 goals in a season you can't complain too much.

It says Long concedes more shots on target than Twardzik does.

I think I mentioned this on P&B but Lee Erwin is basically a sort of blonde Josh Magennis. Big, powerful, runs about a lot, can be a nuisance for defenders and can't score for toffee.

This could be awkward.....oh wait you said you didn't mind if we say he's rubbish. McCall insisted in playing him in midfield and he was truly dire. At right back he's been a bit better but not of the quality that we need there if we want to be anything other than strugglers. Basically he's playing at a level beyond his ability. On the positive side he's not signed for Rangers, although we might not have minded as much as we did in Nicky's case.

For me Twardzik in goal for Long, Hammell for Straker, Sutton for Erwin and I probably agree with O'Brien for Lang if he's injured. I don't especially rate O'Brien or Kerr though. For the Dan malingers only one goal keeper in the league has made more saves than Twardzik this season (Accies McGovern) and he's not even played since January. He has 81 saves in 24 matches compared to Long's 13 saves in 10 matches. Put it another way, Twardzik saves 2 out of 3 shots on goal. Long saves 1 in 2 shots on goal.

Doesn't look ready to me. Probably needs a season as understudy but first choice might be a leap for him.

We need a new right back next season. Law has been better there than in midfield but he's still not good enough.

Slightly different circumstances though, right?

I think it should be compulsory for Motherwell fans to read about Operation Barbarosa. If the Soviet Union survied that, which seemed impossible, and then won, I don't see how Motherwell FC can't win a couple of football games on a ground were we've only lost once in the last six. Let's show a bit of grit and a bit of perspective. The game is there to win, we might not win it, but it is there to win.

Our home form is actually pretty good and St. Mirren is one of the few away grounds we've gone to and won at. A big difference from say going to Firhill needing to win when we were comprehensively beaten last time out. I'm not saying we will definately finish 10th now, but I think Ross County's defeat has opened up a real opportunity for us and Kilmarnock have lost, I think, 5 on the trot. I like to think I'm not unrealistic about where we are BUT as long as there is a possible chance of escape you've got to have a steely belief. I don't want my club or our fans to throw in the towel in a matter as important as this when we maybe could have escaped it.

You certainly can't dismiss the number of injuries we've had this season. It's been catastrophic, we've lost about 5 or 6 players for long periods including Hammell and his deputy for most of the season. I also believe the start of the season really set the tone for everything that transpired. We all wanted a winnable European match after some tough draws we got it and we blew it, not once but twice. There was individual player errors but pre season preperation just wasn't good enough and that comes down to McCall. I have a bit more sympathy towards McCall regarding the run down of the squad because I believe basically wasn't given any money, something that Baraclough can't say. He's obviously been supported by the board in a way that McCall wasn't. On the other side of the coin in terms of youth development McCall was utterly useless. Where I disagree with you is the potential of the players. We were very lucky last season to finish 2nd but I felt there was enough there for us to at least fight for a Top 6 place. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be 11th with a few weeks to go. You slate players that I think could still do a job for us. With a fit Pearson next to him Lasley looked back to his old self. With Lang, McManus looked a bit more secure. Twardzik, for me is better than Long (and still is 2nd top of the saves table this season). Ainsworth and Vigurs are inconsistant but we need players with a bit of flair and are worth persevering with. Others aren't good enough but I think the core of our team is still good enough that we shouldn't be in this position. Is any one telling me Dundee have better players than us? They certainly have a better manager....

I'm a hell of a lot more confident about winning at home than I am away and now we have 3 home games and possibly the easiest away match we could have. I never really believed we'd win the last two because, well I pay attention to the opposition, but I think it is very, very possible that we can actually get out of this now. Partick are safe, only once in the history of the format has anyone finished 11th on 41 points. But if we can win the next two Kilmarnock and Ross County will be looking very nervously over their shoulder. On Friday night we were dead and buried as far as the play offs were concerned. The teams above us must have thought they were safe. Now we are right back in it again and we have to use that unexpected chance to our favour. We are the chasers. We are the dogs, they are the stags. The pressure should be on them. We've nothing to lose and everything to gain now and the opposite applies to County and Kilmarnock. We have to be motivated and believe and we've got to be fearless. Results didn't really go for us with County's run but now, here, finally, is the chance! In terms of team selection every contracted player should play over every loan player even if the loan player is slightly better on paper. We need guys out there who will fight to preserve their Premiership status not guys who will be off doing something else next season.

Our problem was the inexcusable run from January to about March when we hardly took any points. Even average to slightly below average form during that period and we'd probably have been fine. That period also completely destroyed our goal difference. Ross County's run was started by us and a poor performance up the road. Again we win that or even get a draw and Ross County probably don't get the lift and momentum that they did. Ross County's result today has actually cemented my attitude on Baraclough. . When has a team that's been as poor as we have been over a season had so many chances to claw it back? If he doesn't take one of these chances then I'm afraid he's totally failed as a manager and next week must surely be the last one. A win next week blows the whole thing open again but if we don't win then I really don't see how Baraclough can continue with any kind of credibility.

For me Rangers, Hibs and QoS are all of very similar quality so I don't see any real advantage in terms of actually form and quality of player. Of course you then bring in things like the psychological effect of playing Rangers and the, as you say, the plastic pitch at Dumfries. So maybe then Hibs would be our best bet. At any rate I wouldn't put any money on any of the teams to get to the play off final, I think it really is completely open. I think our full backs are worse than our centre backs right now. Lang and McManus, while not great, have been a big improvement on what was there before but Straker and Law just aren't good enough. For me Ramsden cannot be trusted any longer, what with terrible form and his short fuse, and Hammell has hardly played all season and will obviously be pretty rusty so I don't think we really have a lot of options to be honest.

If we do get relegated we should take the foul tasting medicine and hope for better next season. That means going down to Rangers. Being in the Championship with Rangers next season is surely the worst of all possible outcomes.

Fine. But right now we are heading for four matches against Stranraer next season.

He was about 5 or 6 rows down from me and his section looked like it was a group of people of a similar type (fat, shaved heads, tattoos) so you can hardly blame anyone for not doing so. I would have reported him if there had been a steward or any police around which there wasn't but of course when we got back to Airbles station there was about 20 of them doing fuck all except clogging up exits, getting in the way and of course picking up giant over time payments! Good job Police Scotland. The sad thing was Angol was there with two women, one I assume was his mum, and the other who was perhaps a sister or girlfriend, and they clearly heard the comment. They say we need to increase our support, on the evidence of last night we need to decrease it. Just sickening.

Last time we won a match Keith Lasley was by miles Man of the Match.

What makes me 90% sure? His record, simple as that. Baraclough's record isn't even comparable and anyone that says so is just being stupid and bloody minded. That includes two of the stints you are talking about when he kept Ross County and Kilmarnock in their respective divisions. The obsession with 'newness' in our support is going to put this club right down the chute. Already some are saying we "start again" with a "production line of young talent" in the Championship as if our U20's wouldn't get eaten alive in that division. Our support has lost it's head.

Our fans wanted a left field appointment over some one like Jimmy Calderwood, who I'm 90% certain would have kept us in the division. So suck it up, 'Well fans.

Our best manager this season has been Kenny Black. Fact.

Just watched it and that's exactly what it's like!

If Ross County win tomorrow I think it's something like a 17 point swing since the start of the year. We were 7 points ahead of County even after the 5-0 defeat at Douglas Park. I think if you look at our results this season there have been very few draws. We just can't seem to dig out a point here and point there. We either win, or more likely lose. We are completely bereft of confidence or belief. We lose a goal and we are basically fucked.

As bad as we've been I don't think anyone down there is better than us in potential at least. Form is a different matter though. The two big problems are we've consistently choked in pressure games and obviously these play off matches would be pressure games. Secondly, we might fall apart now like St. Mirren did when they realised relegation was inevitable. If Ross County win tomorrow, and probably even if they only get a point given the goal difference, it's going to be inevitable that we go into the play offs.

A manager has to provide leadership. There is obviously none. Our players go out into matches not believing in themselves and that can't be anyone other than the managers fault, at the very least it's his responsibility to do something about it. Look at his substitutions tonight. No guts from the manager.