Ya Bezzer!

Rangers were rank today. I don't deny that most of our guys gave plenty of effort and we would probably have got a result against most teams in Scotland but we didn't show much quality and there was far to many basic mistakes from almost everyone. It's a shame really because if we could only cut out those very basic mistakes we would probably have won today because in my opinion Rangers were there for the taking. Hopefully McCall can get that 5-10% extra concentration out of the side, if he does I fancy us to turn things around go back up the league. Randolph was solid, I felt we were relatively secure at the back bar some slack out balls from the defenders, midfield was a little frustrating, too many guys were playing in patches. Lasley started great then had a lull, then picked up again, Jennings struggled at the start of the match and only gradually came into things and Hateley was all over the place for most of his time on the pitch. If only all three of them had played well at the same time. I was also disappointed in Humphrey for most of the match although he had a good wee spell. Murphy let us down with his finishing but I thought he put in a power of work and was always our main danger man. Sutton did well in a difficult role. We gave a good account of ourselves, we matched Rangers for most of the match and deserved at least extra time and I cheered the team off but I can't help thing today was an opportunity missed.

Just back from the game - it's baltic out there. Just one thing to say Half time Champions 'Mon the Robbie!!!

I agree with Jay and others. I don't expect to win today but I do believe there is a possibility that we could win and I am excited about that. I've seen us beat better Rangers teams than the current one plenty of times. It could happen, it probably won't but it could happen. That does not make someone 'happy clappy' or 'holier than thou'. If we put in a performance like we did against Rangers at Fir Park recently I will be coming home to give them both barrels on the forums here. If we put in a performance like we did the last time we played Rangers at Hampden, one of the very few times I have walked out before the final whistle, I will be livid. What I don't get is people who have buried the team before the game even starts. Who don't seem to have any pride or excitement that we have reached a semi final. That seems to me to be bizarre but each to there own. Come on ye 'Well!

Gannon won 3 out of this first 12 games, and that's if you include a extra time victory over then first division ICT.

Cos he's worth less as his contract runs down? And Finlay, he might be half way through a 3 year contract but come the summer he'll be going into his final year when his worth dramatically falls off.

Obviously think we can get a £100K for him in the summer.

It's a semi final. I think it's only the fifth one in my twenty five years of following the 'Well. There is no way I won't be there, hoping and praying for a lucky break. They say breaks even themselves out, well we are due one in a semi final versus Rangers. Believe.

Smith had a decent first season with us, then he had a terrible second season where he was dropped for Colin Meldrum TWICE. Since then he has been absolutely useless. Occassionally he'll pull off a good save and he's not bad on penalties but generally he is terrible. The Stevie Woods comparison is pretty close to the truth.

Not slating the guy, he's young and just starting out but to these eyes Meechan hasn't shown much so far, except that he is a big, sturdy lad. Page on the other hand has shown something but he's had more game time.

Did we not pay a fee for Stephen Hughes, that's how I remember it.

Och, he scored a winning goal against Rangers at Ibrox, money well spent!

Em guys, Reynolds had a brilliant first season for Motherwell. Hutchinson still has to match that, never mind anything else. Hutchinson is a very good prospect but lets face it Hibs were the worst team I've seen at Fir Park this season and they could have played all day and not scored. Not the sternest test in the world. Doing well today doesn't make you a world beater. I like Hutchinson but he's a young player and he has a lot to learn.

Went for Hammell, played well and delivered the balls for both goals.

True. None of the guys I played with went pro, but there was some excellent footballers among them. I have no doubts they could have played professional level if they had got the chance at 16 or 17 to join a pro club. It's even worse these days when scouts are picking out young players for their height and strength over skill. It might get to the stage were a supporters 11 could beat the first team!

I never leave before the end unless its an away match and I have a train to catch. My attitude is I want to see every goal Motherwell ever score. Surely to God we will beat this Hibs team today. It's bad enough that they have already beaten us twice this season. I thought we were pretty unlucky to lose the first match at Fir Park, hopefully fortune will even things out today. It's hard to know though how Hibs will react to their cup defeat - will it completely destroy their confidence or will it fortify them into giving a better performance today to prove the critics wrong. I think not having a midweek match when your opponent did is a huge advantage. I'd like to see the stats but I'm sure that the team that had the rest comes out on top most of the time. However, Calderwood will probably change the team to such an extent that it may not be a big factor. We really need to win this one today, and I'm hopeful we will.

Well said.

Randolph (23) Hateley (21) Hutchinson (20) Craigan (34) Hammell (28) Humphrey (21) Jennings (26) Lasley (31) Forbes (21) Murphy (21) Sutton (27) Just so people actually know what age our players are, because they don't seem to. Probably one of the youngest teams in the league. I make it 5 out of 11, 21 or under. Although everyone are weary willies at the moment we still have a lot to play for this season. The top six is still open, we are in both cups including a semi final. What we need is more experienced players coming in during the transfer window, not more youth.

Gannon went for a job interview down south, without the clubs permission, the week before the 2-2 Accies match at New Douglas.

Well they have been talking to Stuart McCall for the last 10 minutes.

Premiership clubs have loads of money and can therefore afford to use lamps to grow grass during the winter. We can't because its enormously expensive.

Aye right! But if you think about what you would pay for Joe Hart or Robert Green or Ben Foster or Chris Kirkland, you'd have to think Randolph was worth a million or so.

Would only work if something could be arranged between supporters of all clubs. The difficulty then is that it will be difficult to get everyone to agree to the same weekend or date.

It's easier to get a TV deal when you have fans than to get a TV deal when you have no fans but the people that run or game are so short sighted they can't see past the next deal to the one after it. This arrangement will last until the end of the TV deal they have obviously got lined up at which it will be too late not to change. By that time it will be change or die.

Good luck to him, he's been an excellent club servant. In overview he looked like a truly great player in the making in his first season. He didn't quite fulfill that early potential but he still has a lot of his career ahead of him and perhaps a change of scenery will do him good. That said he was a good player for us and our relative success in recent years can't be separated from his contribution. I wonder if he will play as a centre back or will be converted into a different position. That level of English football is more about physical strength than finesse and that isn't one of his attributes. Could he move into midfield or left back?

True. How exactly do people expect it to look like in mid January? Maybe the ground keeper needs to have a really stern word with the blades of grass over their insistence on abiding to the principles of photosynthesis.