Ya Bezzer!

The thing that worries me most is that we have so many players out of contract. If it does happen, we are basically going to have to rebuild the team with probably fewer season ticket sales, less gate income, less money coming in generally and a whole lot of player budget cuts. Player recruitment would be absolutely crucial otherwise we could go from being a Premiership standard team to being a bog standard or worse Championship level team over a close season.

The point is that our recent form is garbage while the other teams are picking up points. Ross County for instance haven't lost more than 2 games in a row since September. St.Mirren have also picked up. We, on the other hand, are in our worst form of the season. This is the reality, ignore at your peril.

Laing had a nightmare debut but we need him to be better than anything else we've had this season and shore up the defence. By all accounts Grant did well and he scored a good free kick. Perhaps if him and another new arrival can kick on we can do a bit better, but I think we'll be doing well if half of them are an improvement on what we already had. We definitely need Pearson and Hammell back. I also think Dom Thomas could be a crucial player for us in the run in. I'd like to think that by watching matches at Fir park since 1982 I can spot a bit of quality amid all the mediocrity and dross and in my opinion Dom Thomas has that.

Ross County have taken 5 points in 2015. St. Mirren have taken 7 points. We have taken 1 point. Replicate that form over the remaining games up to the split and we would be bottom, 4 points behind Ross County (effectively 5 with goal difference) and 7 points behind St. Mirren (effectively 8 points). We have to improve dramatically to have any chance.

Football is a strange game. We'll probably win again this season but it's hard looking at the evidence of the season to see where or how. As for the example above, probably the greatest factor was that Ross County were playing Aberdeen, the best of the rest, one week and Motherwell, the worst in the league, the next.

I'll bet you anything Lasley wasn't fully fit yesterday and was rushed back for the match. Playing Ramsden, Grant and Lasley in midfield is a managerial failing rather than anything else. Total lack of balance or variety.

Dundee have scored in every match bar one this season, we have not scored more than one against anyone other than Ross County. So just taking that into consideration getting anything more than a point will be a big surprise. Inverness are just on a totally different level from us this season. They will pass us off the park. Kilmarnock are very up and down. Probably our best chance of getting a victory but what state will we be in if we lose the two before for a record of 8 defeats out of 9 which, sadly, I think is very likely?

It's all Vigurs fault and then he doesn't play and nothing changes. Then it's all Ainsworth's fault and he doesn't play and nothing changes. Then it's all Lasleys fault and then he doesn't play and nothing changes. Then it's all Twardzik's fault and then he doesn't play and nothing changes. Now it's Reid's turn to shoulder the blame for a huge, season long, collective failure that includes two managers. We have been dire across the park, all season. Trying to narrow it down to one cause looks like the most desperate kind of hopeful thinking.

Without Lasley we are 2 - 12 down this season and have picked up 1 point out of 12. No point making this about individuals when it's all about a collective failing.

One of the things that really worries me is that there is belief out there based nothing more than the fact that because Motherwell haven't been relegated for a long time it won't ever happen again. I've been reading this "we'll be alright" stuff all season.

This whole season has been 'gotta win the next game' or 'important few weeks coming up' followed by total failure. Baraclough has not improved anything and if anything we are worse, 1 point from 21 is our worst of the season and we are defensively even worse than before, conceding an average of 3 per match. If that stat doesn't change we are basically finished. Doomed. In terms of formation, tactics, style of play we've been as dire as at any other time this season. I'm getting absolutely sick of saying this but next week is must win and a lose is unthinkable - to lose 7 out of 8 in our position, at this end of the season... It's kind of ironic that so many on here had the knives out for Kenny Black and yet the only time we have even looked like we might not be relegation bound was when he was in charge.

Should have started. I said it earlier excluding Sutton, we had 2 goals in the line up and 1 of them was 6 months ago. You need a goal threat and with the exception of Sutton we don't have one.

(Sarcastic) Goalkeeper's not tall enough.

We've lost 5 and drawn 1 out of the last 6 and are currently losing to the bottom team in the league who have lost 10 out of 11 at home. If we lose this today serious questions need to be asked about Baraclough. We are getting worse rather than improving. If Baraclough can't improve the results then he's not doing his job - that simple.

.....unless Sutton scores we are fucked. Which has been the story of the season so far.

We cannot lose this one. Huge second half. Lack of goals is chronic. Sutton aside we have 2 goals this season in the line up. 1 for Ramsden, 1 for Erwin, 6 months ago on the first day of the season....

Just noticed that we've only scored more than once in a league game twice this season and both times were against Ross County.

Latter rather than former, I think.

Wouldn't bet on todays match because it's a bad match to bet on. 1 win and 9 losses between them on home/away form.

Baraclough intimated that Nielsen might be on his way but nothing was certain, I'm guessing maybe a Scandanavian club was sniffing around and he would agree to a release if he could sign for another club. ZFA is injured. Cummins is mince and has been appalling on his two previous loans and no one in their right mind will want him, Carswell and Ainsworth are probably still required as part of our first team squad.

Lots of changes. Let's see if the results change!

Wrong to say they aren't interested in viewing figures. Anyone selling advertising wants as many viewers as possible. However the TV companies know that only Rangers and Celtic matches are likely to bring in a mass audience. As long as Rangers and Celtic attract advertising loot they will tolerate having to show Ross County v Kilmarnock.

The thing is I doubt BT/Sky/Whoever are even that interested in this game. The television audience for an Aberdeen v Motherwell match is extremely limited; some matches between two provincial clubs the audience will only be a few tens of thousand compare to Rangers or Celtic matches that attract TV audiences of a quarter of a million and upwards. These televised matches are to the benefit of the clubs more than the television companies and I'm sure if it wasn't written into the contract that they had to cover clubs like ours the only time you'd ever seen TV cameras there would be for Rangers or Celtic games. To all extents and purposes Friday night football is a television dumping ground for contractual obligations. You'll note the Rangers v Hearts match, probably the only match of mass appeal on BT's upcoming live schedule is being played on Sunday afternoon.

Ross County have put together a couple of strange runs. At the same time as they have picked up at least a point from 7 of their last 8 away matches, they have also lost 7 on the trot at home. With that in mind I think this is one game where we can go in fairly confident. But then you see that we have lost 7 out of the last 8 away matches. Hmmmm.....

If we've paid £50,000 for Johnson you'd have to expect it to be a longish deal, so that sounds about right.