Keef

He had very little to do that night. Not a lot to go on but as a Tranmere fan myself I'd be interested to see how Daniels gets on.

From a threadbare squad a few weeks ago to one with competition for places thanks to a combination of new signings, with more to come, and several young guys emerging as serious contenders for a regular starting place. Whatever happens, this has been the most interesting pre-season for years.

Eqerem Memushi is brilliant. He makes Jim Jeffries' post-match assessments seem balanced. It would be easy to mock the man but his comments have simply added to the overall joy of such a bizarrely brilliant night. It is hard to gauge just how good a performance it was last night having had little or no prior knowledge of Flamurtari or of Albanian football in general. Flamurtari were certainly poor on the night, despite of course being the better team (!), and allowed us a lot of space to play but my initial impressions of the game (the first ten minutes or so) were that they'd be a well-organised, stuffy type of side who would try to kill the game and snatch an away goal on the break. The lift in our players' confidence following the second goal was almost tangible and by that time Flamurtari seemed to have accepted their fate. That said, we worked very hard for our win and it was great to see the team continue to close down opposition players and chase down fifty-fifty balls well into the second half despite the result being in no doubt. I have seen us struggle against and even lose to some very poor teams in the past and we certainly would not have beaten them by simply turning up. There was a sense of ruthlessness about our performance that I have not seen for some time. It was especially satisfying that all the goals were scored by young players. For all Flamurtari were poor, they were up against a number of players whose combined first team experience prior to this summer amounted to little more than a handful of substitute appearances. Despite this, some of our youngsters looked like veterans of the European scene. Ross Forbes, for instance, controlled the midfield, used the ball well, tracked back and tackled effectively and was a threat in attack throughout the match. So good was his performance that few people watching the game with no prior knowledge of our squad could possibly have imagined he was playing only his fourth game for the club. In my view, in spite of the good performances from others such as Murphy and Slane, it is Forbes who has been the biggest find of the Jim Gannon era so far and probably our most consistent performer. It is common in Scotland to see youngsters trying too hard and resembling headless chickens in their desperation to prove themselves so it has been reassuring to see a young player perform with such maturity and composure.

It might make up for the PA being virtually inaudible in the East Stand.

I created a Twitter account yesterday to get the 'Well updates and decided to 'follow' a few others. I think it could be a good thing if used well, i.e. to spread ideas, news, music/book/film recommendations, that kind of thing. Yet even as a fan of the whole social networking thing, I'm quickly losing interest.

I can't defend this guy's actions, so I won't. I did love this line, though: I mean, anyone can kick a door down, but it takes years of hard work and training to kick it in the way Peter Innes did.

Klimpl is suspended but I expect Lasley will fill in.

This sounds very much like the clock that hangs above your record collection, fella.

Raised in Fife by a mother from Inverclyde and a father from Newcastle, no family tradition of watching any particular team and not even much family interest in football, I probably have less good reason than anyone to be a Motherwell supporter. Motherwell were just the first team anyone took me to see. Guys my dad knew through work took me through to a few games about 20 years ago and I just stuck at it. Wouldn't change it now.

Poor Andy Roddie. Even Mio scored more goals than he did...

It is strange to think it is almost a year since Phil died. As a Motherwell fan in a place where there aren't too many of us around, I'm often asked about his death. It still feels very raw to me as I'm sure it does to all of us. To not only lose Phil so suddenly but to be there at his last moments of life and to witness the anguish of his teammates and our fellow supporters was an incredibly traumatic experience and one I hope none of us ever go through again. What Phil's wife and children, not to mention Clarky, went through that day doesn't bear thinking about. I'm sure the ICT game will be emotional but I hope it turns into a happy occasion as Phil's life and his remarkable contribution to our club merit an awful lot of celebration.