Lobey_Dosser

Less than 3,500 Motherwell fans today. Did crowds not used to go up for the New Year games?

Another excellent performance against a dangerous St Johnstone to keep our fine run going. Very good games for the usual suspects but Ainsworth was outstanding today. Cameo from Faddy was the icing on the cake. Good to see Vigurs net his first goal. His contribution and work ethic has risen significantly in the last week, hopefully a sign of things to come. Huge credit to McCall for racking up the points and some fine displays while juggling the personnel and formation over the festive period. Will be sad to see Twardzik go back to Dundee. Great character with the credentials to be a very good keeper.

Right conundrum for McCall. Hutchison returns which will see Ramsden move to right back, although he has been helluva impressive in the middle. Against St Johnstone, the defence will need more protection in front of them so I assume we'll see the usual pairing of Lasley and Carswell. So who plays on the left - Vigurs or ZFA? Shame that there is only space for 1 as they both benefited from playing alongside each other in conjunction with a roaming Faddy. Maybe take a risk and rest Hammell, with ZFA providing the width from full back and Vigurs tucking in. Then upfront, do you play Anier or Sutton alongside Faddy? Tough call but Anier and Faddy look a right handful together if they are on their game. Great to have options all of a sudden. In for a tough game though, Hasselbaink always a handful, the boy Edwards looks a danger and May appears to be the real deal.

How long do we get away with an emergency keeper given that Neilson has been back on the bench for the last 2 games?

McFadden. Inspiring.

Agree with all that, plus a mention for the solid as fuck Ramsden. After hearing that Carswell was motm up at Aberdeen it was great to see him carry on that form in an unfamiliar position. Brilliant to see Faddy get his chance upfront and he made the most of it. Fine way to sign off 2013 with a performance that was up there with the highs of Feb-Apr when we were blitzing the likes of Hibs and Celtic in similar fashion. Credit to McCall and the players for giving us a right good Christmas.

Murphy came through the ranks, scored a pile of goals and was effectively shoved out the door at Fir Park to earn us a few quid. Would love him back at Fir Park. Only feasible I guess if we get a decent fee for Hutchy and/or part ways with Faddy.

Wee bit nervous about the game as Thistle are potentially much more dangerous than their league position suggests. There's also going to be a point where the Christmas schedule takes it's toll on our squad. Having read that Osbourne and Welsh are both missing is a significant boost though as it will leave a gaping hole in front of their defence.

Murphy to Hibs would be a sore one. They are going to be linked with a helluva lot of players during Jan.

The left back is Taylor-Sinclair, signing for Celtic last I heard. My only trip to Firhill was the 3-0 pumping that followed the 4-3 Clarkson semi.

Had this game earmarked as a good day out since the fixtures were announced. Thistle have missed a bucket load of chances in their last 2 games and I think that has been the story of their season so far. Think this could prove to be tougher than some anticipate but hopefully our good form can continue in front of a large travelling support.

Agreed. Listening to Radio Scorland I'm recent weeks, all the chat has been about the New Firm derby on New Year's Day. Both sets of fans brought back down to earth yesterday.

Textbook performance. Result of the season so far that goes some way to making up for the cup game. Special day for those that travelled up. Good day all round for Motherwell.

No need to ask who is playing on the left. We know Hammell will be on his own. Lawson and Vigurs have been two very poor signings to date. Neither of which can get a run in the team due to McCall not being overly impressed by them. I don't rate either and both warrant criticism for their lacklustre displays in my opinion but anyone is entitled to defend them to the hilt. We all judge players differently.

Kerr in for McManus. Vigurs dropped for his fellow County dud. Not much of a left side.

Hard to believe it is a year since we blew them away 4-1. Much sterner test this time obviously. Would be the highlight of the season so far if we can get a result up there. If we can somehow put in a disciplined defensive display and prevent them running at us and getting balls into the box, hopefully we can hit them on the break and Anier and Ainsworth carry on their good form from the weekend.

Ross County will come back in for Lawson.

Sutton for his effort. Closely followed by Ainsworth for providing the cutting edge.

First comfortable win at Fir Park this season. St Mirren were obviously brutal but we put together a few nice moves and could have scored a couple more. Clear to see the impact Anier and Ainsworth can have when they are interested. Let's see if they can produce a run of performances over the festive period.

Wouldn't surprise me given the number of clubs he's been through. Obviously has a bit of talent but the fact that he's always blowing out his arse suggests that he isn't bursting his balls in training. We've done well to steer clear of this sort in recent years...

Not many in all honesty, he got injured at the right time as he was due to run out of luck. The guy is not a decent keeper.

Slightly disappointed to read that we are keen to keep Anier and Ainsworth beyond January. Hopefully it's just a case of keeping them motivated over the festive period. Far better options out there.

Pile of pish. Anyone that knows football, knew where our issues would lie this season. We have 2 bombscare keepers and one of the worst midfields in recent history.

I can mind missing the Malcolm game. I think we may have beaten them 2-0 courtesy of a Murphy double during the Craig Brown days.

Expect this to be a typical battle. Not seen much of St Mirren this season but they appear to have picked up a wee bit although the loss of McGowan must have an impact. Hopefully squeeze out a 2-1 win with Faddy to finally have an impact. Interested to see how Kello plays for them, decent bit of business from Lennon given our inability to replace Randolph.