Ya Bezzer!

I'd experiment with the shape rather than the personnel. I really don't like the idea of 'saving' players, especially at a club that doesn't really have consistent performers or top players. You should make the next team sheet by putting a performance in this one. For me it just sends out so many wrong messages, as does writing off some matches in favour of others. Didn't many of the soothsayers write off the last Celtic match were we ended up getting a point before getting pumped off Livingston? Sure, if we are getting smashed at HT play it clever and save some players legs but every game needs to be competed. I'd be thinking about putting something like a 4-3-2-1 out for this. Every player in midfield and forward areas for Celtic needs to be matched off. This Celtic team are not amazing creative if you close them down. However we give them space and areas to run into we make it easy for them.

For the second week in a row Gillespie was crucial to getting the points. Penalty save and very good performance in what was tricky conditions for goalkeepers.

Assuming St. Johnstone used all three subs that's at least 3 minutes right there. And while there weren't any major injuries there were a few instances of players going down plus, lets be honest about it, some time wasting by us. 4 minutes doesn't seem unreasonable.

Gillespie has been better than Carson on this seasons form.

Depends. Didn't play amazing football or anything, we were actually defending a lot of the time, but we came to a tough away ground, took our chances and defended well enough to just about get over the line. If St. Johnstone had scored 10 minutes earlier I suspect we might not have got 3 points. We kinda fell apart in the last 10. McHugh, who overall had a good game, lost the plot, gave the ball away to a St Johnstone forward in front of goal, got booked and gave a couple of fouls away in dangerous areas. St. Johnstone also had a penalty claim. Gives you a flavour of the closing stages! We had a decent wee spell of pressure earlier in the second half and might have scored a third, I thought St. Johnstone were very ropey at the back today, overall it wasn't a classic but in the weather conditions that's not much of a surprise. Overall, we probably created more chances and deserved the 3 points.

Wee bit luck and take your chances and you too can be 2-0 up at McDiarmid. Funny St. Johnstone came into the game with such an impressive defensive record but the two goals they conceded were very poor. Not out the woods yet, you get the impression if Saints could get a goal back it could get tough for us. Gillespie has been excellent.

Gonna be a lot of slips and fumbles today. Wind is really blowing as well, diagonally across the park.

Howling cold wind and torrential sleat. At least I don't have shorts on.

If anyone ever doubts my commitment to Motherwell Football Club, I got out of bed this morning to go to this game. Believe me, it wasn't easy.

Even the best team in my life time, McLean's title challengers, I seem to remember got pumped at McDiarmid.

St. Johnstone normally play 4-4-2 but the last time we played them they matched up with a 3-5-2. Did the same against Livingston, although they kept their 4-4-2 against Accies who also mostly play 3-5-2. Will be interesting to see if they do the same again. For us I'd like to see James Scott get more game time, probably as a sub over Bowman.

It's probably, roughly, about the same level but slower and less physical.

Seemed like a nice enough guy in the post match interviews but being as kind as possible I don't think our form is going to plummet as a result of him leaving.

The last time I was there I got sunburned pretty badly. The day of the infamous Carson 18 yard controversy. That was August to be fair.

This combined with one of the longest walks from the train station in Scottish football means I'll probably be even more grumpy than usual. Hang on to your hats!

On the first paragraph I'd pretty much agree with everything you say, except you could also describe Robinson in broadly similar terms (mistakes excluded!) and he wins a lot less often and doesn't finish Top 6. Personally I think the current crop of coaches in our league are highly retrogressive and contribute hugely to the poor standard - McInnes, Levein, Wright, etc. - it's football from a bygone age and we need a massive injection of technical and tactical modernity right across Scottish football. As for wages, St. Johnstone are very prudently run. Any difference is probably down to not paying off significant debt like we are, and of course higher league finishes over a number of years brings in more money - the difference between 5th and 8th is hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Tommy Wright, in the main, recruits local players that know this level of football. It seems to me our support reacts better to bringing in unknowns and hoping or imagining they are better than they are. I don't think there would have been a very good reaction on here if we had signed Ricky Foster, or Ross Callachan or Liam Craig. In fact if you look at the squads of the three over performing sides in the league - Livingston, St. Johnstone, Kilmarnock, those sides are the ones with the most Scottish players. Contrast with the 'foreign' legions at Dundee, Hamilton, ourselves or even St. Mirren. That might be a coincidence....but it may also say something about where you recruit your players.

Never heard or saw anything at the match but pretty angry to hear Christian Mbulu was racially abused. The Hearts support is an absolute embarrassment.

Although some will disagree I am actually a fair man. Hell, I even stood up for Robinson after the Livingston match. I've actually been slightly heartened recently that Turnbull is now in the team and that guys like Mbulu, Maguire, Livingston and Scott are now, finally, making the odd appearance. Of course they need more appearances, for instance I think now is the time to put Scott ahead of Bowman on the 'off the bench' roster, as Bowman had another ineffective introduction today, and they should have played more before now. Fingers crossed on that. Also our form over say, the last 8 matches or so, is by no means the worst it's been under Robinson. We were actually MUCH worse for long spells last season but of course we were in the cup so all was forgiven by most of our support. Remember last seasons 2 wins in 15 matches? Well, perhaps, but it didn't seem to register with too many. Certainly makes our 4 wins in 16 matches this term look a bit better. And for me that is really the interesting thing here. I've been a long standing critic of Robinson, even when we were in relatively good form because I had the foresight to see that that style of football was not going to be successful long term. However it seems to me that the antagonism towards Robinson has risen sharply this season when to all extents and purposes our form is no worse than last season and, in fact, has actually improved slightly. What's the difference? Well, it has to be the lack of a cup run. Is that actually a fairer way to judge the manager than the criteria that I've pretty consistently stuck to? Anyway, now my foresight is telling me we cannot go on with a revolving door of low quality lower league/non league players coming in and out of the club every couple of seasons and expect anything more than...well...what we have now. Sure there will be some good ones. Louie Moult is one of my favourite ever players and I'm in my 4th decade of supporting this team. But overall the standard of player has to improve if we are going to improve as a club and since it's difficult to bring them to the club it stands to reason that we have to produce them. So Robinson can win my support any time he likes by having a forward looking vision centered around youth and a modern style of football, I have absolutely nothing personal against him, it's just a disagreement in strategy. And given that we've given the route one/percentage football a pretty decent whack and not really got anywhere with it, I think things are ripe for change. I actually hope Robinson can transform himself and his philosophy, because otherwise it's bad for everyone, especially supporters like me that actually go to every match. Whether I'm confident that he will is a different story.

Think it would be a bit unfair to include predicted results. Of course I will! Stats for last 5 managers, ie, all the managers that we've had since the turn of the decade. Win percentage of last 30 league matches Craig Brown - 43.3% Stuart McCall - 36.6% Ian Barraclough - 30.0% Steve Robinson - 30.0% Mark McGhee - 23.3% Perhaps ought to bare in mind Craig Brown, Stuart McCall and Mark McGhee had top 6 finishes within their 30 matches, whereas Barraclough and Robinson had/have bottom 6 matches. Overall win percentage Craig Brown - 45.7% Stuart McCall - 44.5% Mark McGhee - 33% (2nd spell only) Steve Robinson - 31.8% Ian Barraclough - 30%

Main tried hard. That's about the best I can come up with.

Levein/Robinson hoofball master class. There was times in the second half when the match ball should have had a civil aviation code. Absolutely brutal. Funny thing is I was talking to some Spanish tourists who had picked up tickets and were going to the game. They must have wondered what the hell they were watching. It's bad enough that we play like that but Hearts have 4 or 5 times our budget. They are a sliver of an inch better than us. The game in this country needs a root and branch overhaul. It's actually embarrassing

We had a reasonable start but once Hearts scored they had a hot 10 minutes when they could have put the game to bed, missed 2, 3 good chances. Our defence just hasn't defended a high ball all afternoon. Think our front three have been our best players so although we've not created much you still feel like we might get a goal. We will have to defend a lot better in the second half though.

Fantastic defending fir the goal......Hearts could be 3 or 4 up already.

Looks like we are playing a 5-2-1-2!